Los Angeles Dodgers: Rich Hill makes his return in Baltimore

The Los Angeles Dodgers look to take two of there against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday in Rich Hill’s return to the mound.

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the National League West on Tuesday in a great team win over the Baltimore Orioles and were probably a bit hungover from the night before as they dropped the second game in the series by a score of 7-3.

The team now looks to take the series two games to one on Thursday, which is huge as they are fighting not only for home-field advantage in the World Series but to hold off the Atlanta Braves for home-field advantage in the NL. You cannot leave wins on the table against a team like Baltimore.

Thursday presents an exciting game as well as toeing the rubber for the first time since June is none other than Rich Hill. Hill has been out of action with a strained flexor tendon in his pitching forearm and is looking to get some innings under his belt in time for the postseason.

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It is still unclear exactly how Hill will be used in the postseason. He might be called on to start, but if he does not get some innings under his belt and look comfortable doing it, he might have a very short leash.

It would not be surprising to see the Dodgers use Hill as a long-term opener of sorts, pitching him the first three innings and making way for Tony Gonsolin or Dustin May to pitch the next two or three.

We will get a first glimpse of where Hill is at tonight, and boy is it exciting. Hill may not be the best pitcher on the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he certainly is the most entertaining player to watch on the entire team.

The Dodger offense is going to look to get Hill some early run support to make his return as easy as it could be. As part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, here is who we think can help provide that offense.

Jason’s pick (Current streak: 2): Cody Bellinger

It is no secret that Cody Bellinger has cooled off but he is still getting on-base at a good clip and when he is getting base hits they are often impactful. However, it has felt like forever since Bellinger last left the yard and has fallen behind in the home run race.

Bellinger is known for hitting his home runs in bunches and Thursday is going to be the start of another bunch that carries over into the weekend series against the New York Mets, where Bellinger will be going toe-to-toe with the home run leader, Pete Alonso.

I absolutely love the matchup against Dylan Bundy, who was once one of the best prospects in baseball. Bundy has a 5.06 ERA, allows nearly two home runs every nine innings and has a .271 batting average against facing left-handed hitters.

Bellinger is going to get at least one out of the yard and it would not be surprising to see it come in his first at-bat.