Hill continues to carry snakebit A’s

SEATTLE — It’s a good thing the A’s have Rich Hill.

Oakland entered Monday night’s series opener against the Mariners with some daunting numbers to overcome in the first two months of the 2016 season. They not only arrived at Safeco Field with a record of 19-26, which already had them eight games behind first-place Seattle in the American League West, but they had 13 players, including five starting pitchers, on the disabled list.

Hill, the 36-year-old left-hander who signed a one-year, $6 million deal with Oakland over the winter, had been a Major League journeyman until finding something in the latter part of 2015, when he made four starts for Boston and pitched to a 1.55 ERA. The A’s snapped him up from a competitive free agent market and guaranteed him a rotation spot before Spring Training even began.

And look at him now.

Hill continued to flourish on Monday, flummoxing the Mariners in their return from a triumphant road trip and silencing Safeco en route to a much-needed 5-0 victory. He went a season-high eight innings, scattering eight hits and striking out six without walking a batter. He improved to 7-3 for the season, lowered his ERA to 2.18, and continued to be the …

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