Dodgers' Rich Hill back on disabled list after aggravating blister

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Tuesday, April 18, 2017

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgersplaced left-handed pitcher Rich Hill on the 10-day disabled list on Monday with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.

The Dodgers were hoping Hill would put his blister problems behind him Sunday. Those hopes burst in the third inning of Los Angeles' 3-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks after Hill aggravated the blister.

Hill was activated from the 10-day disabled list before the start after missing time with the blister, but he was able to make only 54 pitches on Sunday. The left-hander allowed two runs, five hits and two walks and struck out two.

Hill was upset when he arrived in the dugout after the third inning and went straight to the clubhouse. He returned to the mound to start the fourth inning, but manager Dave Roberts and a trainer met him there for a long conversation before he was pulled.

Last year, Hill was traded from Oakland to the Dodgers in August when he already had a blister issue on the same finger. He signed a three-year, $48 million free-agent deal in the offseason with Los Angeles, and there were no issues in spring training this season. Now, though, the blister has reared its ugly head again.

Hill said he noticed the blister had opened while swinging on deck in the second inning. He pitched the third with the popped blister, but said it isn't as bad as last year when it "completely broke open and was bleeding, raw skin."

The Dodgers had eight pitchers in the bullpen Sunday in case Hill's blister flared up, and they used five of them to finish the game.

"Every time he takes the mound, the uncertainty is tough on everybody," Roberts said. "It's tough on the team. It's tough on the pen. And I know Rich understands that. (We tried to) give it time, ample time, which we thought 10 days was enough, but apparently it wasn't. We have to revisit those conversations."

The Dodgers recalled infielder/outfielder Rob Segedin from Triple-A to fill the roster spot.