Hill keeps 'em guessing
Puzzles Braves with 8 shutout innings, lowers ERA to majors-best 0.41
ATLANTA -- If Carlos Zambrano could talk about the Cy Young Award in spring training, is 18 days into the season too early to bring Rich Hill into the conversation?
''I don't have any predictions,'' the Cubs left-hander said.
No, just results -- as in three victories in three starts this season and 16 straight scoreless innings after shutting out the Atlanta Braves for eight in a 3-0 victory Thursday night at Turner Field.
(AP)
If nothing else, Hill has opened an early Cy Young lead on his more boisterous teammate while also making a particularly important contribution to the team Thursday: rest for a bullpen still smarting from pitching nine of 14 innings two days earlier.
''We really needed some innings to rest our bullpen one more day, and he gave us exactly what we wanted here,'' Piniella said.
It was remarkably similar to what he did in his first two starts of the season. He went seven innings in each of those games, and his only run allowed this season has come on a leadoff, sixth-inning home run by Corey Hart that broke up -- what else? -- a perfect game, on April 6.
Atlanta hitters Kelly Johnson and Matt Diaz said Hill's deceptive delivery and aggressiveness forced them to be guess hitters on Thursday. Other than Johnson guessing right on a fastball he hit for a leadoff, ground-rule double in the sixth, they apparently were guessing wrong.
In fact, Hill shrugged off the double, got two quick outs on a fly to left and grounder, then walked the dangerous Andruw Jones and followed that by inducing an inning-ending grounder from Jeff Francoeur -- to leave Johnson standing at second.
''It was fun to watch,'' Piniella said.
Fun? Hill (3-0) lowered his major-league leading earned run average to 0.41 and is tied for the major league lead in victories.
And even though Hill is pitching in what would be his first full big-league season, this performance has not come as a shock to those in the organization who watched his transformation last year.
Hill, who has pitched like this since the start of spring training, went 7-1 with a 1.80 ERA at Class AAA when he got sent down in July last year. Then he went 6-3 with a 2.93 ERA after being recalled.
In fact, his combined numbers since getting sent down last year are now 16-4, 2.09, in 202 innings -- 9-3, 2.38 at the big-league level.
And that was the idea, he said. ''I was looking to pick up where I left off last year,'' he said.
And the key is that aggressiveness, he said -- that insistence on throwing strikes whatever the count, whoever the batter.
''If you pitch aggressively, there's no doubt in your mind on any pitch,'' he said. ''You're going to come in there and you're going to throw it with conviction.''
His only stumble Thursday was, literally, a stumble in the eighth inning, when his cleat caught on the mound and he fell while delivering a ball to the backstop.
But after a quick look from the trainer, he resumed work. And picked up where he left off.