Cubs lefthander Rich Hill remains one of the tougher pitchers to decipher in baseball. He has had big stuff—low 90s velocity and a big, hard curveball--since his college days at Michigan, though he only went 7-16, 4.93 during his Wolverines career. And he has been erratic in the minor leagues, entering 2006 with a .500 career record and an ERA near 4. But he also has dominated, with 491 career strikeouts in 351 career minor league innings. Hill's inability to throw consistent strikes always has frustrated scouts, and it frustrated the Cubs last year, as he went just 0-2, 9.13 in 10 big league games. He struck out 21 but walked 17 in 24 innings with the Cubs and was actually worse in a four-start cameo this season, one that was bad even by 2006 Cubs standards. Hill walked 15 in 19 innings while losing all four starts. So how come this guy is just amazing in Triple-A? Saturday night, Hill pitched seven one-hit innings for Iowa in a 3-0 victory against Memphis, striking out 14 and walking one. Of his 105 pitches, 71 were for strikes. Iowa manager Mike Quade, up with the major league club as a third-base coach, told reporters Hill's biggest issue remains fastball command. "He may point up the difference between the (Triple-A and major league) levels more than anybody," Quade told MLB.com. "Pitches that I believe he gets outs with there, he hasn't gotten outs with here. It may be because he's behind in the count." Hill's victory improved him to 7-1, 1.80, and even with the big league detour, he leads the Pacific Coast League in two triple-crown categories: ERA and strikeouts. His 135 K's have come in just 100 innings, and he's allowed just 88 baserunners (62 hits, 5 HBPs, 21 walks). With the Cubs' dealing Scott Williamson to the Padres and losing lefty Sean Marshall to the disabled list (strained oblique), Hill could get another chance at the majors soon. "Every game, you go out and go as hard as you can," Hill told the Des Moines Register after his victory Saturday. "Every game is an audition." Enough with the auditions. Hill needs to perform on the big stage now. Team W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO Iowa Cubs 7 1 1.80 15 15 0 0 0 100.0 62 22 20 3 21 135 --

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