Alec Mills

Last Game: Cubs 12, Brewers 0

Up Next: Tuesday, Indians (26-21) @ Cubs (28-20) 7:15 CST

Game Recap

Saturday’s glorious 9th inning comeback will stick in the minds of fans for quite some time. The same can be said of Sunday’s. No, the game was not in doubt, but as you may have heard Alec Mills completed one of the most unlikely no-hitters in Cubs history. Truly, a weekend of 9th innings that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

ALEC MILLS HAS THROWN A NO-HITTER! pic.twitter.com/zalNPUaOJy

— Cubs Zone ™️ (@CubsZone) September 13, 2020

I expect the viewing audience for the game doubled around the 6th inning when the Bears completed an improbable comeback in their season opener and news of what Mills had accomplished through the first half of his start began filtering out into social media. But while many of the fans were distracted in the early going, Alec Mills went to work. He didn’t miss a ton of bats (just 5 whiffs among his 114 pitches). According to Statcast he even gave up nearly as many hard hit balls as the Brewers staff did on the afternoon.

The work Alec Mills has put in making his breaking balls into viable MLB pitches the past couple of years deserves a shout out.

How many ~66 mph slow curves did he throw for strike one this afternoon?

— Michael Ernst (@mj_ernst) September 13, 2020

What Alec Mills did do, was get a lot of called strikes. That slow curve of his was a 1st pitch weapon throughout the game as Brewers hitters seemed geared up to hit the fastball. He threw 23 curves, 9 went found the zone without the Milwaukee hitter even offering. In fact, they swung at the curve only 6 times all afternoon. Mills garnered another 9 called strikes on his four seamer, 6 on his sinker, and 2 on his infrequently used slider. You don’t rack up numbers like that unless you are masterfully mixing your pitches to keep the hitters off balance.

How about some attention for the receiving and game calling by Victor Caratini — Darvish’s personal guy (possible Cy Young) and a no-no from Mills. This guy can work with pitchers!

— Away Games Podcast (@AwayGamesPod) September 13, 2020

Credit goes to Mills, but also to Victor Caratini behind the plate. The pair executed a phenomenal game plan. Like virtually all no-hitters, there was some luck involved. The Brewers put plenty of balls into play, including several well struck, but the Cubs defense was up to the task while the BABIP gods smiled down on Mills.

Top Performers

Hey, the offense did some things as well. The 12 runs is a little deceiving, as the Brewers defense butchered enough plays to result in 5 of the runs being unearned, but hey, you got to put the ball in play in order for the opposing defense to factor in. That’s something the Cubs have had an issue with all season (for several seasons actually). The Cubs struck out just 8 times, which may sound like a lot, but when you consider they completed 5 runs through their batting order and were working through a 6th time it becomes more impressive.

Saturday’s hero, Jason Heyward, led the attack. He reached base 4 times, drove in a run, and scored 3.

I am also pleased to report Javy did Javy things on the bases:

Not to be lost in an incredible and historic day, God bless Javy Báez for just being like – are you guys seriously gonna just let me take home? OK, if you insist. pic.twitter.com/vtAogmuEGc

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 13, 2020

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

• This was the 16th no-hitter in Cubs history, their second accomplished at Miller Park (Carlos Zambrano against the Astros in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina). Between those two, the only two in the history of Miller Park, Jake Arrieta threw a pair of his own. David Ross was behind the plate for the Arrieta’s last back in 2016.

The Bears are in 1st place.
The Cubs are in 1st place.
The White Sox are in 1st place.

Bask in it Chicago.

— Michael Ernst (@mj_ernst) September 13, 2020