Dick Mountain: Hill, Dodgers Kick Off Player’s Weekend With 11-1 Win

It’s becoming a reoccurring theme of the 2018 Dodgers: when they win, they win big. On Friday night in Los Angeles, the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 11-1 behind the powers of Dick Mountain, Rich Hill.  Indeed, the bats went to work to kick off Player’s Weekend; but the tone was really set by Hill. After a sweep during the week to the Cardinals, this was a big win for the Dodgers who improve to 68-61 with 33 left to play.

Rich Hill, AKA ‘Dick Mountain’

Definitely, this was Hill’s night from the get-go. He showed incredible command of his curveball and fastball and recorded eight strikeouts. Hill allowed two hits and a walk in six shutout innings, efficiently on 90 pitches. By the time Hill gave way to Pedro Baez in the 7th inning, the Dodgers led 9-0. Was there a more perfect pitcher to kick off Player’s Weekend? The ‘Dick Mountain’ moniker has gotten a ton of play in social media circles – and this ironically could be what starts a small rally for this team.

The Offense

The Dodger offense went to work early against San Diego’s Clayton Richard. Leading 4-0 after two innings, Chris Taylor and Justin Turner homered in the third and fourth innings in succession. Both blasts went to center and seemed to energize the home crowd.

Cody Bellinger continued his torrid August with two run-scoring hits of his own, and Max Muncy clubbed his 29th home run of the season in a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh. Brian ‘Bull’ Dozier added two big doubles in the game, including the first Los Angeles plate appearance of the night.

As a treat, @Dodgerhogs on twitter has another little creation for us. Bone Thugs and Harmony in honor of the Dodgers bringing home snake-eyes.

@DodgersNation a tip of the cap to the #DickMountain and the boys for sending us “Home” happy! #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/nGd58QT8nQ

— DodgerHogs (@DodgerHogs) August 25, 2018

Looking Ahead

The Dodgers picked up games on Arizona and Colorado who both lost – making this win extra large. Clayton Kershaw will toe the rubber on Saturday night for the Dodgers who look to see if they can catch some lightning in a bottle and continue momentum. Still, this is a team that will need to bring this focus and intensity every night while looking to get back into the playoff hunt. On this night in Los Angeles – all was as it should have been in the Dodger world. It will forever be known as a beautiful night on Dick Mountain, for most.