With Hill in Game 3, LA looks to ‘whip’ Cubs

CHICAGO — Fourteen months ago, Rich Hill was a 35-year-old pitching for the Long Island Ducks of the Independent Atlantic League. On Tuesday, he will pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

How a left-hander who throws 90 mph got from there to here is one of those complicated stories that makes baseball so mysterious and great. Hill’s opponent, Jake Arrieta, has a story of his own, having evolved from an underachieving Oriole to a Cy Young Award-winning Cub. But this is a story about Hill, and here’s a theory as good as any to explain his renaissance as a Major League pitcher more than worthy of a postseason start: It’s a matter of mechanics.

• NLCS Game 3: Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/5 PT on FS1

Game Date Time Matchup TV/Highlights Gm 1 Oct. 15   CHC 8, LAD 4 Gm 2 Oct. 16 LAD @ CHC FS1 Gm 3 Oct. 18 8 p.m. CHC @ LAD FS1 Gm 4 Oct. 19 8 p.m. CHC @ LAD FS1 *Gm 5 Oct. 20 8 p.m. CHC @ LAD FS1 *Gm 6 Oct. 22 TBD LAD @ CHC FS1 *Gm 7 Oct. 23 TBD LAD @ CHC FS1 * If necessary | All times listed ET  • NLCS coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Dodgers

“I think of my throwing motion like a whip,” Hill said. “It goes out, hits its target and comes back. It is a recoil.”

It is a dance, as much as a delivery. Hill’s whip does not only consist of his arm, but his whole body; his torso recoiling as the pitch reaches the plate and his drive leg swinging around. It’s a pitching pirouette.

And it is effective.

After parts of 10 …

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