Hill gets G4 nod as LA tries to tie World Series

LOS ANGELES -- Boston native Rich Hill will indeed get the opportunity to start against the Red Sox in Game 4 of the World Series in Los Angeles, as the Dodgers look to tie the series, 2-2.
Within moments of Red Sox manager Alex Cora saying that his World Series Game 4 starter would be "TBA" on Friday, the Dodgers countered by changing their announced starting pitcher for Saturday from Hill to "TBD." On Saturday, Boston officially named Eduardo Rodriguez as its starter.
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"We were just kind of just potentially toying with the idea of an opener and just kind of wanted to leave it open-ended," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "And just after more conversation and thought, just feel great about Rich starting and going through his normal routine."
The "opener" Roberts apparently was toying with was Julio Urías, but he was needed to throw an 11-pitch 17th inning in the Dodgers' thrilling 3-2 Game 3 win. That was the third consecutive appearance for Urias, and it took him out of play for Game 4.
"We thought about it and decided to go with Rich," said Roberts, who didn't deny that gamesmanship might have played a role. "Just to leave it open."
Hill, who last pitched during a one-inning relief outing in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 19, was not one of the nine pitchers the Dodgers used in their 18-inning marathon win on Friday.
The veteran left-hander has had a strong postseason this year, with a 2.61 ERA in his three appearances -- the Game 6 relief outing plus a pair of starts. In the more recent of those two starts, the Dodgers' 2-1 win over the Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS, Hill allowed just one run on three hits in five innings. In his first start, facing the Braves in Game 4 of the NL Division Series, Hill allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings in another Dodgers win.
In fact, going back to the beginning of last year's postseason, Hill has a 2.57 ERA in his seven games (six of them starts), with 34 strikeouts in 28 innings, and he hasn't allowed more than two runs in any game. Hill hasn't gone deep into games -- his longest start is five innings -- but he's gotten the job done while he's in the game.

Hill isn't just a Boston native -- his career resurgence also began with the Red Sox in 2015, when he earned a September callup just over a month after he was pitching with the independent league Long Island Ducks. Hill was excellent in four starts down the stretch, and he turned that success into a contract with the A's for '16. He was then traded to the Dodgers that year at the non-waiver Trade Deadline.
Bullpen on fumes
Roberts said his bullpen is in the kind of shape to be expected the day after an 18-inning game. But he was confident the Dodgers' bullpen was in better shape than the Sox's.
"You know what? This is the World Series," Roberts said. "You can't account for 18 innings. It is what it is. Everyone's in the situation. All you can do is go out there and post. No one is expected to be fresh. That's just where we're at. To kind of dissect, what else can we do? The only guy we're not going to pitch today is Julio, and that's because of the potential injury. Outside of that, everyone's tired."
Kenley Jansen, Pedro Báez and Kenta Maeda threw two innings each Friday night, and Dylan Floro tossed 1 2/3 innings. The freshest relievers are Ryan Madson (two pitches), Scott Alexander and Alex Wood (one inning each).

"It's not ideal, but this situation, what we've gone through already, nothing's ideal," said Roberts. "You can't get every optimum matchup, obviously. That's the reality. You still got to get the guy out."
Roberts praises Puig
Roberts said the most overlooked play in the Game 3 win was right fielder Yasiel Puig's defensive play that kept Eduardo Núñez from scoring from first base on Sandy León's two-out double in the 13th inning off Floro. Nunez was compromised with an ankle injury suffered on a freak play earlier in the inning.
"Yasiel getting to the ball and getting it in quickly," Roberts said. "The third-base coach sees any hesitation or bobble, arm strength factors and he sends him."

The Dodgers then walked Mookie Betts intentionally to load the bases, and Xander Bogaerts tapped out in front of the plate to end the inning.