D-backs’ Kirk Gibson outlines Aaron Hill’s recovery timetable
Apr 16, 2013, 7:54 PM | Updated: 8:04 pm
The Arizona Diamondbacks suffered a blow Tuesday when they had to place second baseman Aaron Hill on the disabled list with a broken left hand.
Hill was hit on the hand by a James McDonald pitch in the fifth inning of a 6-5 loss to the Pittsburgh last Tuesday. The 31-year-old missed the next two games and returned Saturday deliver a pinch-hit RBI double in a loss to the Dodgers.
Hill was back in the lineup Sunday, but left after one at-bat.
“He checked his swing on Sunday and kind of felt a little pain in his hand in the spot where he got hurt,” manager Kirk Gibson told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 620 Tuesday. “He just came up to me and told me ‘I can’t swing,’ so I asked if he could play a little defense and give me a chance to get (A.J. Pollock) loosened up.”
Hill was off to a solid start this season, batting .306 (11-for-36) with two home runs, six RBI and had struck out only once in 42 plate appearances.
“They did a CT scan on him an it showed a little surface crack in one of the bones in the back of his hand,” Gibson said. “Probably two weeks in a soft cast, he’ll probably start light swinging in three weeks, and hopefully we’ll get him back shortly after that.”
Hill was a stalwart in the D-backs’ lineup a year ago when he hit 26 home runs, drove in 85 runs and hit .306 — statistics good enough to earn him the National League Silver Slugger Award for second basemen.
“It’s a big loss to lose Aaron Hill for four-to-six weeks, but our mindset is going to be we’ve got to cover up until he can get healthy and get back,” Gibson said. “And I feel that we will.”
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