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Hill stays on course to get the cycle

Aaron Hill was not thinking home run in the seventh inning, but that is exactly what he got -- and just what he needed to complete the fifth cycle in franchise history Monday.

Hill lined an 0-1 pitch into the left-field stands to finish his 4-for-4 night in a 7-1 victory over Seattle. Even though the game was well in hand when Hill took his last at-bat, he refused to adjust his swing for the homer that he needed.

"I don't think I've ever tried to hit a home run and actually done it, so you just take a deep breath and try to do what you have done your previous at-bats," Hill said. "Just see a ball up and look for something to drive. It's something you can easily get excited about and try to do a little too much."

Hill's cycle almost came in order. He followed Willie Bloomquist's leadoff single with a single to left field in a three-run first inning, tripled to deep left-center field in the third and doubled down the left-field line in the fifth. His homer -- Hill is tied for the team lead with eight -- came on a high off-speed pitch.

He has been the D-backs' hottest hitter recently, going 20 for his last 49 (.408), and he came within a double of the cycle two games into that run in a 10-0 victory over Colorado on June 5. He homered in the second inning, tripled in the fifth and singled in the seventh before striking out in his final at-bat.

"You have to get the pitch. A lot of things have to come in order," Hill said.

Hill has three doubles, a triple, three homers and 10 RBI since June 4, raising his batting average 33 percentage points to .284.

"It's gratifying to see good things happen to somebody who plays the game right," Bloomquist said. "When things aren't right, he's trying to fix it. That can't be said for everybody in the game. He works as hard as anybody to get things right. That's the stuff that goes on behind the scenes that nobody sees. He wants to get his swing right."