CHICAGO — 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.
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.
After Dansby Swanson led off the inning 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.
Pete Crow-Armstrong drove in the final run against Hill in the fifth, on a double lined 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.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro said there was no pitch-count limitation on Hill, noting before the game the left-hander was “built up” had been in the 90-pitch range at Omaha.
“Well, it speaks to his drive, right?” Quatraro said. “He’s played this game forever and clearly he’s not doing it for the money or being a big leaguer. He’s doing it because he loves it and because he can still be good at it.”
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.
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.
