Health over accolade fuels decision to pull Hill

MIAMI — Fifty-one years and a day after Sandy Koufax pitched the last perfect game in franchise history, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts put health before history and wouldn’t let Rich Hill try to finish his.

Roberts, willing to remove Ross Stripling from a no-hitter in the eighth inning of his April debut, stopped Hill from going out for the eighth with a long conversation in the runway behind the dugout during the Dodgers’ 5-0 win on Saturday over the Marlins.

After waiting five weeks for Hill’s blisters to heal and with the postseason three weeks away, Roberts wouldn’t put Hill’s personal achievement ahead of the team’s future.

Roberts said he acted, in part, on information from the training staff that “there was heat on Hill’s left index finger, and it was starting to get tender.” Hill disputed this, saying he didn’t notice any problem with his finger.

Otherwise, Hill took the high road and deflected questions that could have put him at odds with his manager, even though his body language after their in-game chat told otherwise.

“I understand,” Hill said. “I hold Dave in the highest regard. He’s in a tough position. I get it. I’m very adamant about living in the moment. I didn’t want to come out of the game, right? But there’s a bigger picture here, and we all know what it is. Put Dave in a very difficult position. Something you look at it and move on. That’s all you can do. We’re in the middle of …

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