Kansas City’s Rich Hill seemed a bit rusty in his return to the majors as baseball’s oldest active player on Tuesday night.
His Royals teammates didn’t make the 45-year-old left-hander’s start against the Cubs any easier.
Hill gave up three runs and six hits over five innings in his first major league appearance since last September with Boston. He threw 90 pitches (55 strikes), walking two and striking out one before Jonathan Bowlan took over for the sixth with Chicago leading 3-0.
The Cubs went on to win 6-0 with Hill taking the loss.
Hill labored in the second inning when he threw 31 pitches and allowed two unearned runs as the Royals let him down defensively and Chicago took a 2-0 lead.
“He battled his butt off out there,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “It was tough work out there early.
“He had a couple of walks in there, but he made a lot of competitive pitches. Some of them didn’t go his way, but we didn’t play tight enough behind him to keep it where it was. Otherwise he’s probably looking at one, maybe no runs.”
After Dansby Swanson led off second with a single, third baseman Nick Loftin dropped Ian Happ’s sharp grounder on a potential double-play ball. First baseman Salvador Perez then thew out Happ at second on Justin Turner’s grounder, but bobbled Jonathan India’s return throw on what should have been a double play.
Matt Shaw had a run-scoring infield single and Nico Hoerner drove in one on a fielder’s choice.
“You know, the second inning was a little bit of a grind to get through,” Hill said. “But overall, I felt like the ball came out of my hand pretty much the way I wanted to.”
Hill settled in for his final three innings. He retired eight of nine before Carson Kelly singled with two outs in the fifth and Pete Crow-Armstrong lined an RBI double over right-fielder Jac Caglianone.
The Cubs also stole four bases off Hill, including a double steal by Turner and Shaw in the second.
Hill was selected from Triple-A Omaha before the game. In corresponding moves, the Royals optioned right-hander Andrew Hoffman to Omaha and designated outfielder Tyler Gentry for assignment.
Hill’s start at Wrigley Field marked the debut of his 21st season in the majors and his first with Kansas City. The Royals are his 14th major league team, matching Edwin Jackson’s record.
Hill became the oldest player to start a major league game since May 27, 2012, when lefty Jamie Moyer tossed his final game with Colorado at age 49.
Hill is filling a spot in the Royals rotation for Michael Lorenzen, out with a left oblique strain. Quatraro didn’t say when he might pitch next.
And Hill clearly wants to.
“It’s easy to say that you love it, but when you know you have more to give, it’s tough to walk away,” Hill said.
At 45 years and 133 days, Hill became the oldest player in Royals history, passing Hall-of-Fame right-hander Gaylord Perry, who appeared in two games with Kansas City in 1983 after he turned 45.
The 6-foot-5 Hill began his career with the Cubs, making his big-league debut with a one-inning relief appearance against the Florida Marlins on June 15, 2005. He gave up two runs and three hits.
Hill had been at Omaha after signing a minor-league free-agent deal with the Royals in May. He was 4-4 with a 5.36 ERA in nine starts at Omaha.
A Boston native, Hill appeared in four games last season for the Red Sox. Without spring training, he started his preparation at home in Massachusetts.
“You know going into this season, is knowing there was something left and knowing I could contribute to a ball club,” Hill said
He made 11 postseason starts during his four years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, including two World Series starts in 2017 and another in 2018. He went 11-5 during the latter regular season.
Hill entered 90-74 with a 4.01 ERA in 368 career MLB games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.