Rich Hill wasn't able to extend the Pirates' streak of quality starts on Saturday night against the Reds. No harm done as Pittsburgh prevailed, 2-1, winning their sixth straight game to improve to 15-7 in the young season.
But, without one mound visit early on in the game, it looked like things were going to get out of hand.
Hill put up zeroes in each of the first two innings, but needed 45 pitches to do so. Derek Shelton said after the game that Hill didn't have great feel for his fastball, and his curveball wasn't sharp in terms of placement early on.
When the third inning started, Hill lost all command. He threw eight straight balls, walking the first two batters of the inning. Then, after Hill threw ball one to Tyler Stephenson, his ninth straight ball, Austin Hedges popped up from the mound and had a talk with the veteran pitcher.
"A couple of things about where the curveball was starting," Hill explained regarding what Hedges told him on the mound. "That was really it, just trying to get it a little bit more … It was breaking well, but it was just where it was starting. Just a couple words there to make the adjustment. That was professional. That was something that helped a lot."
It sure did. Hill bounced back with two straight strikeouts and a ground out to keep the Reds off the board, preserving a precious 1-0 lead early on:
Hill went on to pitch five innings, allowing just one run before turning things over to the bullpen. Yohan Ramirez and Duane Underwood Jr. each pitched two shutout innings, giving Hill his second win in a Pirates uniform.
But, without that mound visit in the third inning, who knows what might have happened.
"That speaks to experience," Hill said. "That's something that doesn't show up on the back of your baseball card, so to speak. Having that feel and having that innate ability to be able to call timeout and understand the cadence of the game, what the situation is and what is needed in that moment, he certainly provides that for us."
