[bears9]

ST. LOUIS -- Rich Hill will try to get back on track at Triple-A Iowa.

The Cubs announced Saturday that Hill was being optioned to the Minor League team, and right-hander Sean Gallagher called up to take his spot on the roster. Jon Lieber will step into the rotation, and make his first start on Wednesday in the Cubs' series finale against the Cincinnati Reds.

It was tough for Hill to deal with the news.

"Obviously, it's difficult to go down there," Hill said Saturday. "I haven't been right since the beginning of Spring Training. I'm going to go down and work on what needs to be worked on and get back up here as soon as possible."

Hill was 1-0 with a 4.12 ERA in five starts, and had walked 18 over 19 2/3 innings. On Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals, he walked four of the first six batters he faced, and was pulled in the first inning.

The Official Site of The Chicago Cubs: News: Cubs option Hill, recall Gallagher

[Bryan88]

I still say Hill needed a few more starts before a move like this was needed, but he has really struggled with control so far. Unfortunately this has always been a pretty big problem with him until the last few years and it resurfacing like this definitely concerns me. Hopefully he gets his act together down there and comes back strong.