As he has done all spring, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts again declined to name his Opening Day starter on Wednesday afternoon. But while he did not let the cat completely out of the bag with reporters, you can see the tail and whiskers if you are adept at reading between the lines and have a basic understanding of math.

To his credit, and undoubtedly to Roberts’ annoyance, Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett kept pushing the Dodgers skipper on Wednesday to reveal his Opening Day starter. In doing so, and by process of elimination, Roberts confirmed that left-hander Rich Hill, who many believe will eventually be Roberts’ choice to start on March 28 against Zack Greinke and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium to kickoff the 2019 season, will pitch on Saturday, March 23 against the White Sox in the final game in Arizona before the team heads back to Southern California for the three-game Freeway Series with the Angels.

Here’s where that reading between the lines and math thing comes into play. If Hill indeed starts on Saturday, as Roberts says he will, that lines Hill up for the start on March 28 on normal (five days) rest, to which the Dodgers have adhered to to-the-man this spring.

So there you have it, the unofficial sort of official announcement.

…or do you?

Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda also threw on Wednesday; his in a minor league game on the backfields at Camelback Ranch. The 30-year-old Senboku-gun, Japan native threw a total of 69 pitches over five innings, and then tossed 16 more in the bullpen, so he, too, lines up to be available on Opening Day. The twist here is that Roberts has already said that Maeda would start one of the three Freeway Series games, so……

Stay tuned…

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