LOS ANGELES -- Rich Hill faces a key rehab assignment with Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday that could determine whether he will be the starter the Dodgers envisioned or a reliever out of necessity.
Hill is scheduled to throw four innings or 60 pitches at Lake Elsinore, if his blistered left middle finger "doesn't fall off," he joked.
Blisters nearly ruined his 2016 season and have limited his usage this year to two starts for a total of eight innings. He's been on the disabled list twice already and last pitched for the Dodgers on April 16.
Hill said his frustration is off the charts because after nearly a year fighting the blisters, and he isn't sure how the skin will react to snapping off curveball after curveball.
"It's just the friction," he said. "I can usually tell. It starts to get hot."