Rich Hill’s historic debut marred by Royals’ troubles on defense — and offense
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Rich Hill, 45, became the oldest player to pitch for Royals, allowing 1 earned run.
- Defensive errors and missed scoring chances cost Royals key runs in 5-0 loss.
- Royals acquired catcher Julio Rodríguez in a minor-league trade with Mariners.
“Seven Nation Army” played in the Royals’ clubhouse before their game Tuesday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and the evening’s starting pitcher was enjoying it.
Rich Hill sat at his stall, tapping his toes — which were in socks and shower shoes — keeping rhythm to the classic White Stripes song. A tune that was released in 2003, one year after Hill was drafted by the Cubs.
It’s little secret the 45-year-old Hill is no spring chicken, but the Royals thought there was still some life left in his left arm and gave him a chance.
And he rewarded their faith in a game the Royals nonetheless lost 6-0. The Royals had an uncharacteristically bad night in the field, committing three errors, along with some all-too-familiar struggles at the plate (six singles, one walk and the 11th time they’ve been shut out).
Errors by third baseman Nick Loftin and first baseman Salvador Perez in the second inning cost the Royals a chance at a double play, twice. The Cubs got a fortunate bounce on an infield single, too, and scored two unearned runs.
“The second inning was a little bit of a grind to get through and making pitches and just continuously making the offense swing the bat,” Hill said. “So I got back into a rhythm and into the next couple of innings. But overall, I felt like the ball came out of my hand pretty much the way that I wanted to and that’s all I can ask for.”
In the fifth inning, the Cubs had a runner on first with two outs when Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a laser to right field. Rookie Jac Caglianone got a bad read on the ball and it sailed over his head, allowing Carson Kelly to score to make it 3-0.
Caglianone did show off his strong arm and threw out Crow-Armstrong, who was trying to stretch the hit into a triple.
Hill, who set a record as the oldest player to appear in a game for the Royals, allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out one, although he did get eight swings and misses in his 90-pitch outing.
Hill’s fastest pitch of the night was a 91.1 mph fastball and he worked in his curveball, cutter and a few sliders.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro was impressed.
“He battled his butt off out there,” Quatraro said. “It was tough work early, a lot of pitches, especially the second inning, but I thought he located pretty well. A couple of walks in there, but he made a lot of competitive pitches. Some of them didn’t go his way.
“He did everything we could have hoped for and more.”
It was a history-making night for Hill because of his age and experience. At 45, most professional athletes are content to seek a new pursuit.
Not Hill.
“It’s easy to say that you love it, but when you know that you have more to give it’s tough to walk away,” Hill said. “And I think that going into this season, knowing that I wasn’t going to be participating in a spring training, or getting ready for a spring training, working at home and getting ready, knowing that there was something still in there, I didn’t want to ask, ‘What if.’
“So that was really the big thing this season, going into it, is knowing that there was something left and knowing that I could contribute to a ball club.”
Missed opportunity
The Royals trailed 2-0 in the top of the fifth when they loaded the bases with one out.
Unfortunately for the Royals, Kyle Isbel lined out to shortstop Dansby Swanson, who tagged catcher Freddy Fermin for an inning-ending double play.
“I mean, it’s a tough, tough read,” Fermin said. “If the ball is past the shortstop, I thought the ball was going to the outfield. It was a tough read. I tried to get back to the base, but Swanson is a good player. He got me first.”
Chicago scored three in the seventh inning, the last run coming when Kyle Tucker raced home as part of a double steal. The execution on this play also wasn’t great by the Royals’ defense.
The Cubs stole seven bases Tuesday, tying a Royals club record for most steals in a game. They also allowed that many in a 1980 game against the Athletics.
Royals trade
The Royals acquired Julio Rodríguez from the Mariners on Tuesday.
Nah, it wasn’t the Seattle center fielder. This was a minor-league deal. This Rodríguez is a catcher, and he will play at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Seattle Sports said the Mariners received cash in return.
This Rodríguez, 28, has a .231 average in 15 minor-league games.
Up next
The Royals will go for the series win Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley. Right-hander Seth Lugo (6-5) starts for the Royals in the 1:20 p.m. game. The Cubs will counter with righty Colin Rea.
This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 9:35 PM with the headline "Rich Hill’s historic debut marred by Royals’ troubles on defense — and offense."
