Field Level Media
Sep 13, 2020
Alec Mills tossed the 16th no-hitter in Cubs history as Chicago rolled to a 12-0 win over the host Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon.
It was the Cubs' first no-hitter since Jake Arrieta accomplished the feat on April 21, 2016, against the Cincinnati Reds. The catcher that day was David Ross, who now is in his first year as Cubs manager.
Mills (5-3) lifted his arms after he got the milestone final out in only the 15th start of his big league career. Shortstop Javier Baez fielded a ground ball and zipped a throw to first base to retire Jace Peterson.
The Cubs (28-20) won the rubber match against the Brewers (20-24) thanks to the historic performance.
The Brewers were no-hit for the first time since June 12, 2007, when Justin Verlander dominated them as a member of the Detroit Tigers.
It was the second no-hitter of the season in the big leagues. Chicago White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito fired a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 25.
Brewers starter Adrian Houser (1-5) took the loss after giving up seven runs (two earned) on four hits in four innings. He walked four and struck out five.
Mills, 28, was an unlikely hero for Chicago. He made the rotation at the start of the season in part because left-hander Jose Quintana suffered a freak thumb injury while washing dishes.
The Cubs opened the scoring with five runs in the fourth inning.
Jason Heyward started the outburst with a bloop double to left field to drive in Kyle Schwarber. It marked Heyward's 600th career RBI and came one day after his 150th home run.
An error by Brewers second baseman Keston Hiura moments later allowed Javier Baez to score, pushing the Cubs' lead to 2-0. Victor Caratini followed with a run-scoring single, and Ian Happ drove in two more with a single to left-center field to cap the big inning.
Chicago piled on four more runs in the fifth to go ahead 9-0. Jason Kipnis got credit for two RBIs after he drove in Schwarber with a sacrifice fly, and Baez raced home for another run after seeing the Brewers' throw go to second base. David Bote added a two-run homer to left two batters later.
An RBI double by Caratini increased the Cubs' lead to 10-0 in the seventh.
Chicago made it 12-0 in the ninth on an RBI groundout by Caratini and a sacrifice fly by Bote.
--Field Level Media