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Statcast of the Day: Dodgers have a lot of curve
- Updated: October 19, 2016
LOS ANGELES — Rich Hill sulked his way back to the Dodgers’ dugout after a 30-pitch second inning and slammed his glove down on the bench. It was shaping into a short night for the 36-year-old southpaw.
Yet there he was on the mound in the sixth, pumping curveball after curveball into the strike zone, then pumping his fist after striking out Anthony Rizzo to cap a sensational scoreless outing in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. A 6-0 Dodgers win gave Hill & Co. a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
• NLCS Game 4: Today at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on FS1
“It wasn’t his best stuff,” said manager Dave Roberts. “I think that curveball command wasn’t as I know he would like it, but that just shows that [when] he goes out there and competes, he still has a very good chance to get guys out. I think that his preparedness, his guts, you know, really kept those guys at bay.”
As usual, Hill’s curveball was the pitch primarily responsible. Hill had the highest curveball rate on record during the regular season (data has been collected since 2007), throwing that pitch 47 percent of the time. He also had the second-highest spin rate on curves this year of any pitcher who threw that pitch at least 500 times. Hill’s 2,833 RPMs trailed only the Nationals’ Gio Gonzalez (2,843 RPMs). Spin rate on a curveball is a good thing, as it creates downward movement.
Game Date Time Matchup TV/Highlights Gm 1 Oct. 15 CHC 8, LAD 4 Gm 2 Oct. 16 LAD 1, CHC 0 Gm 3 …
