WASHINGTON — Blisters can often be a burden on baseball players, since gripping bats and balls to propel them at unnatural speeds take a toll on the fingers and hands. But they’re especially problematic for Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill, who threw his curveball on 42.4% of his pitches in 2016. A blister issue sidelined Hill for long stretches of July and August this season, and the Dodgers’ NLDS Game 2 started admitted he tried just about everything to make it go away.

Namely: He peed on it. This is something of a standing baseball tradition, especially among players who do not wear batting gloves like longtime outfielder Moises Alou. There’s no science that unilaterally backs the practice, but many believe urinating on the hands helps toughen the skin and prevent blistering.

“You pee on it,” Hill said Thursday at Nationals Park. “You might as well try it, right? I was desperate to do anything at that time. I wanted to super glue it back…. It’s a cloud, because when the blister happened, I was so frustrated.”

Hill also tried soaking his finger in vinegar at the suggestion of Sandy Scully, the wife of legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully.

“Yeah, there’s been some obscure things,” he said. “But the only thing (to heal it) is time, especially with the blister that I had.”

Hall of Fame starter Nolan Ryan famously soaked his fingers in pickle brine between starts. Whether or not that actually cures or prevents blisters, it seems by far the best possible strategy for combating them because it comes with free pickles.