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Hill dominant as Cubs shut out Reds

Sep 29, 2007 - 10:24 PM By Gary Schatz PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CINCINNATI (Ticker) - With no pressure on him, Rich Hill went on a Saturday afternoon cruise.

Hill yielded one hit through six superb innings as the Chicago Cubs posted a 4-0 shutout over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.

Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno each hit solo homers and rookie Geovany Soto added an RBI double for Chicago, which was still in celebratory mode after clinching the National League Central title Friday night.

A 6-0 victory over Cincinnati on Friday night gave the Cubs their second NL Central crown (2003) in the last five years.

Chicago, which rested regulars Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, will begin postseason play on the road to an opponent to be determined later.

Hill was brilliant, yielding only a fifth-inning walk to Edwin Encarnacion after retiring the first 13 batters. The lefthander's no-hit bid was broken up by a two-out double by rookie Buck Coats in sixth inning. He was lifted for Sean Marshall before the seventh inning after throwing 54 of his 78 pitches for strikes.

It was the third straight win for the 27-year-old Hill, who almost didn't start the game.

Because the Cubs clinched the division, manager Lou Piniella announced that Sean Gallagher would get the start Saturday in place of Hill. However, an hour before the game, Piniella reversed his decision, deciding that Hill needed some work before the playoffs.

Hill got all the runs he needed when Chicago scored in the first.

With two outs in the top of the frame, Murton hit the first pitch he saw from Aaron Harang over the right field wall to make it 1-0. It was the eighth homer of the season for Murton, who was playing left field in place of Soriano.

The Cubs added to their lead over the next two innings.

In the second, Cedeno led off by belting an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall to increase the lead to two. It was Cedeno's fourth homer.

One frame later, with Murton on first and two outs, Soto doubled into the left-center field gap before scoring himself one batter later on a single to right by Felix Pie.

Harang (16-6) allowed four runs and nine hits in eight innings of work. The righthander, who struck out a season-high 12 batters, was trying to earn a career-high 17 wins.