March 7th, 2019 at 9:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka With every indication that Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will begin the 2019 season at extended Spring Training (or on the Injured List), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts needs a Plan-B for who his Opening Day starter is going to be; something which he has not tipped his hand at yet. And while many Dodger fans would love nothing more than to see future Dodgers ace Walker Buehler have that honor bestowed upon him, the cold, hard truth is that the extremely popular 24-year-old right-hander and Dodgers 2015 first-round draft pick out of Vanderbilt University has yet to appear in even one Spring Training game, with Opening Day exactly three weeks away.
So who, then, will Roberts (and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman) choose?
Based on what we saw on Wednesday night when the Dodgers hosted the Cleveland Indians at Camelback Ranch, the odds-on favorite is soon-to-be 39-year-old (on March 11) 14-year MLB veteran left-hander Rich Hill.
By every measure, the extremely popular (and extremely competitive) Boston, Massachusetts native is further along in his Spring Training preparation than any of the other likely Opening Day starting rotation candidates.
With his start on Wednesday night – Hill’s third – the “crafty left-hander” (as he is often called) has now logged more Spring Training innings pitched than any other potential starter; 6.1 to be exact. The nearest of the other four likely starters are right-hander Kenta Maeda and left-hander Hyun-Jin-Ryu with 3.0 innings pitched each.
In his start on Wednesday, Hill allowed one run on three his, while walking none and striking out four of the 11 batters he faced, doing so on 46 total pitches. And even though the one run he allowed was earned, it came as a result of an error which prolonged the fourth inning.
For anyone who has ever had the pleasure to speak with Rich Hill, when posed with the question as to the significance of being named as the team’s Opening Day starter, his answer was anything but a surprise.
“I’m just going to keep pitching every day. The decision isn’t up to me,” Hill said. “Hopefully all those guys get back, and are healthy. The season is right around the corner.”
My money’s on Hill on the hill on March 28. You?
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
Hill in game 1 makes sense; came to camp in great shape, and has pitched very well his spring; he deserves the honor of opening the season. Dodgers play AZ 4 games, then Giants 3 to complete first home stand. After a day off, team plays 3 in Colorado.
AZ starters: Hill, Ryu, Maeda, Urias
SF starters: Buehler, Hill, Ryu
Colorado starters: Maeda, Urias, Buehler
Cardinals starters: Hill, Ryu, Maeda, Urias
Clayton Kershaw comes off DL on April 12 to start against Brewers at home. Urias optioned. Dodgers rotation becomes: Kershaw, Buehler, Hill, Ryu, Maeda
This, according to my K-Mart crystal (plastic) ball.
My Walmart crystal ball says Buehler, who has yet to make even one ST appearance, remains in AZ for extended spring training and Stripling begins the season in the Dodgers starting rotation.