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Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Rich Hill tied an MLB record during the team’s 6-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday at Wrigley Field.
Hill, 45, made his Royals’ debut in the loss and tied reliever Edwin Jackson for having played for his 14th different team in his MLB career.
Hill’s return to the major leagues also made him the oldest active player in the sport.
The left-handed starting pitcher pitched five innings and yielded six hits and three runs (two unearned) with two walks and a strikeout.
“He battled his butt off out there,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said postgame. “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.”
Hill had a grueling second inning, as he threw 31 of his 90 pitches in that frame as his defense betrayed him. He gave up two unearned runs that inning.
PHILLIES SECURE BIZARRE WALK-OFF WIN NOT SEEN IN MLB FOR OVER 50 YEARS
“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.”
With the start, Hill’s 21st season in the big leagues is underway. He became the oldest player to start in a game since Jamie Moyer did at 49 years old with the Colorado Rockies on May 27, 2012.
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 the Royals in 1983 after he turned 45.
Hill was called up from Triple-A to join the rotation for Michael Lorenzen, who didn’t pitch due to an oblique strain. Quatraro did not say when Hill would pitch next, but the 6-foot-5 lefty wants to pitch again.
“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.
In his 21-year career, Hill has played for the Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, the then-Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, the then-Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, and the Royals.
The Royals (49-53) will take on the Cubs (60-41) in the final game of their three-game series on Wednesday at 2:20 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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