Kansas City’s Rich Hill continues to prove why he’s an ageless wonder on the mound.
Perhaps equally as impressive, the 45-year-old Hill has never suffered a losing decision against the Atlanta Braves.
Hill looks to build on a solid 2025 debut with his latest club and help the surging Royals attempt to hand the visiting Braves a sixth straight loss on Monday night.
Some 20 years after the left-hander made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in June 2005, Hill (0-1, 1.80 ERA) was back on that same mound, pitching for his 14th team after signing a minor league contract with Kansas City in May.
While becoming the oldest player to appear in a game for the Royals, Hill allowed three runs (one earned) plus six hits with two walks with one strikeout in five innings of Tuesday’s 6-0 loss to the Cubs.
“It’s easy to say that you love (playing in the majors), but when you know you have more to give, it’s tough to walk away,” Hill, who made his first start since September 2023, told MLB.com.
“That was really the big thing this season: Knowing there was something left and knowing that I could contribute to a ballclub,” Hill said.
With recent injuries to Michael Lorenzen (oblique) and All-Star Kris Bubic (placed on 15-day injured list Sunday with left rotator cuff strain), Hill has a spot, momentarily, in the Royals’ rotation.
Kansas City took two of three each from the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland in back-to-back series and are 13-8 in July following an 8-18 month of June. Hill hasn’t faced the Braves since 2022, while pitching for Boston, but is 5-0 with a 2.63 ERA in 54 2/3 innings over 11 career games (nine starts) against them.
Injuries to Atlanta’s pitching staff have mightily contributed to a dismal season at 16 games under .500. Currently, all five members of the Braves’ Opening Day rotation are on the injured list, and they’ve been outscored 40-12 during their five-game skid.
“We’ve just got to find a way and keep going,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said after Sunday’s 8-1 loss to Texas. “The game’s aren’t gonna stop because we lost our rotation. We’re gonna mix and match and piece this thing together and go from there.”
Scheduled Atlanta starter Spencer Strider (4-8, 3.72) has allowed three runs in three of his last four starts. Last Wednesday, he gave up two home runs while yielding three other hits and three walks while striking out seven over five innings of the Braves’ 9-3 home loss to San Francisco.
“It feels like we’ve had a million opportunities to make adjustments, get headed in the direction we think we’re capable of — nobody more so than myself — and just haven’t been able to do it,” Strider said. “It’s embarrassing, honestly.”
This will be the right-hander’s first appearance against the Royals and their All-Star Maikel Garcia, who homered during Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Guardians. He’s batting .364 with two home runs and four RBIs in the last six games.
Meanwhile, designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, possibly in his final days as a Brave with the trade deadline looming, is 0-for-10 with five strikeouts in his last five games. He’s also 1-for-7 versus Hill.
Teammate Michael Harris II has a hit in two career at-bats against Hill, and the center fielder is 11-for-19 with two homers, two doubles and two triples in the last five contests.
–Field Level Media
