Veteran Hill Reflects: “9K? No point in giving up so many goals”

Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Rich Hill, who took the loss despite showing good command, blamed himself for putting the team in trouble.

Hill spoke about his outing (five runs on seven hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings) in an interview following a 6-1 home loss to the Texas Rangers at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday (April 24).토토사이트

Asked about the bad luck that led to two runs in the first inning, including a triple on a fielding error by the center fielder and a walk, he said, “On the walk situation, I was told I pitched without stopping and that’s why it was a walk. It’s one of those things that I can’t control,” he said.

Rich Hill allowed five runs on the day. Photo (Pittsburgh, USA)=ⓒAFPBBNews = News1
“I pitched a terrible sixth inning. I should have pitched better,” he said of the sixth inning.

“In the major leagues, you can’t put your team in a position to win if you don’t throw the ball well,” he continued, “I didn’t put my team in a position to win. A game that was 1-2 when the other pitcher was throwing well became 1-4 when I came down. It was one of those games where you have to give credit to the other starter. I didn’t pitch well. I should have done better,” he said.

It’s a hard pill to swallow given his performance on the day. After giving up a run in the first inning, he settled down and retired four straight batters with one out in the second and third innings. Except for the sixth inning, he pitched well.

Manager Derek Shelton said, “His pitches were good. “He induced a lot of swings and misses and got back-to-back strikeouts. He pitched really well,” said Shelton, who praised Hill’s performance.

“You can talk about strikeouts, but at the end of the day, it’s the runs that count,” Hill said, shaking his head at the notion that he was being too hard on himself after striking out nine. I came off the mound with a 1-4 deficit. I put them in a position where they couldn’t win.”

“I don’t think that’s the mindset of a championship team to come out of a game like that and say you pitched well. You have to hold yourself to a higher standard and be able to throw good pitches and stick to your game plan. You have to work to give your team a chance to win,” he said.

“At the end of the day, it’s about how well you execute the plan. That’s the goal. Other than that, there’s not a lot of things I can control. I pitched well through five innings, but the mistakes in the sixth inning were things that shouldn’t have happened. I have to keep working and keep moving forward. It’s important for me to make sure I’m pitching according to my plan throughout the game.”