Alec Mills throws 16th no-hitter in Cubs history as North Siders shut out Brewers |
MILWAUKEE — History was made at Miller Park at Sunday, as Alec Mills threw the 16th no-hitter by a Chicago Cubs (28-20) pitcher. The right-hander walked three and struck out five en route to shutting out the Milwaukee Brewers (20-24) and tossing the first no-no of his career. Mills also became just the second Cub to pitch a no-hitter at Miller Park. The last time a Cubs hurler threw a no-hitter was when Jake Arrieta did so on April 21, 2016, and Mills joined fellow starter Jon Lester as the only members of the Cubs' pitching staff to have thrown a no-no. At the plate, the Cubs backed up Mills by drubbing the Brewers. Milwaukee suffered several defensive blunders on the day, helping the Cubs pull off a lopsided 12-0 shutout. Inning-by-Inning Breakdown: T1: Adrian Houser started on the mound for the Brewers and worked a scoreless first. Score: Cubs 0, Brewers 0 B1: Mills did not give up a baserunner his first time out. Score: Cubs 0, Brewers 0 T2: Kyle Schwarber led off with a walk, but Javier Baez then grounded into a double play. Jason Heyward walked after that but was left stranded. Score: Cubs 0, Brewers 0 B2: Ben Gamel garnered a two-out walk before Mills drew an inning-ending groundout. Score: Cubs 0, Brewers 0 T3: After fielding an Ian Happ grounder on a shift, shortstop Orlando Arcia made a throw that pulled first baseman Jedd Gyorko off the bag. Arica's error did not lead to any runs scoring, though. Score: Cubs 0, Brewers 0 B3: One strikeout and two groundouts made up a routine third frame for Mills. Score: Cubs 0, Brewers 0 T4: Third baseman Eric Sogard sparked a five-run inning for Chicago after booting a grounder hit by Baez. Schwarber, who led off with a walk, reached second on the play. Heyward followed that with an RBI double, and Baez then scored from third on an error committed by second baseman Keston Hiura, who was unable to cleanly field a Jason Kipnis grounder. Victor Caratini drove Heyward home with a base knock, and, after Houser hit David Bote with a pitch, Happ slapped a two-run single to the opposite field. Score: Cubs 5, Brewers 0 Just noticed J-Hey’s having a pretty good series. pic.twitter.com/3rnxo7o37X Bases: Loaded B4: Mills benefited from a 5-6-3 double play that ushered in the fifth inning. Score: Cubs 5, Brewers 0 T5: Houser was removed after walking Schwarber and giving up a double to Baez. J.P. Feyereisen entered to pitch, and the Brewers' infielders did him no favors with what was likely one of the most boneheaded mental lapses in Brewers history. Kipnis skied a sacrifice fly that plated Schwarber from third. Baez tagged up at second and reached third, beating out the throw from the outfield. Sogard, who caught the throw, took his eyes off Baez, assuming that time had been called, and tossed the ball to second base. Baez took advantage, tagging up and racing home before a lazy throw was made to the plate that ricocheted off the catcher and hit the umpire. Kipnis was credited with two RBIs on the wacky play, and Brewers manager Craig Counsell was ejected for arguing about whether or not Baez should have been allowed to tag up. A few at-bats later, Bote took Feyereisen deep for a two-run blast into the left field corner. Bote's sixth dinger of the season, the two-run shot just cleared the fence, providing the Cubs with a commanding nine-run lead. Score: Cubs 9, Brewers 0 Reputation precedes me Here at Miller Park, Craig Counsell has been ejected as the Cubs lead the Brewers 7-0. pic.twitter.com/2psvrkZRNQ Get on, D-Bote. @BinnysBev pic.twitter.com/gFu8OR67Am B5: One flyout and two lineouts kept the Brewers hitless. Score: Cubs 9, Brewers 0 T6: Feyereisen remained in the game and worked a 1-2-3 sixth. Score: Cubs 9, Brewers 0 B6: In addition to tallying a strikeout, Mills forced the Brew Crew to ground out twice. Score: Cubs 9, Brewers 0 T7: Corey Knebel walked Heyward, who scored from first on a two-out double off the bat of Caratini. Score: Cubs 10, Brewers 0 A deep offensive play down the field ?? pic.twitter.com/OJtTmK8REv B7: A two-out walk was all that the Brewers mustered at the plate in the seventh. Score: Cubs 10, Brewers 0 T8: Following a Willson Contreras single, Billy Hamilton singled for his first hit in a Cubs uniform. Neither run was scored. Score: Cubs 10, Brewers 0 B8: The Brewers failed to hit the ball out of the infield in the eighth. Score: Cubs 10, Brewers 0 T9: The Brewers resorted to using a position player late in the romp, as Arcia pitched the ninth. An RBI groundout by Caratini scored Heyward, and a sacrifice fly by Bote scored Kipnis. Score: Cubs 12, Brewers 0 B9: A foulout, a strikeout and a groundout made for a three up, three down inning that put a bow on Mills' no-hitter. On a shift, Baez fielded a ground ball hit by Jace Peterson and lobbed it to Rizzo at first for the final out. Mills was mobbed by his teammates on the mound in celebration of his historic outing. Mills improved to 5-3 with the winning decision, and his ERA now stands at 3.93. Houser dropped to 1-5 as a result of the loss. The Cubs took 2-of-3 from Brewers in the final series of the regular season between the two rivals. The 10-game season series was split 5-5. Final Score: Cubs 12, Brewers 0 QUESTION: Statistical Breakdown: Chicago Cubs: Batting: 12 R, 10 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 3 2-Out RBI, 2 SF, 1 GIDP, 3-10 RISP, 8 LOB; Fielding: 0 E, 1 DP; Pitching: 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP Milwaukee Brewers: Batting: 0 R, 0 H, 1 GIDP, 0-0 RISP, 2 LOB; Fielding: 3 E, 1 DP; Pitching: 10 H, 12 R, 7 ER, 7 BB, 8 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP Studs of the Game: Chicago Cubs: Alec Mills (SP): 9.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP; Victor Caratini (C): 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 2B, 1 2-Out RBI, 1-2 RISP Milwaukee Brewers: N/A Duds of the Game: Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo (1B): 0-6, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K, 0-1 RISP, 1 defensive assisted DP Milwaukee Brewers: the entire batting order; Adrian Houser (SP): 4.0 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP Up Next: The Cubs have Monday, Sept. 14, off, and they will return to action against the Cleveland Indians (26-21) on Tuesday, Sept. 15, for the opener of a two-game series at Wrigley Field. Previously, the Cubs swept a two-game set at the Indians in August. Tuesday's pitching matchup features two veteran righties, as the Cubs' Yu Darvish (7-2, 1.77) and the Indians' Carlos Carrasco (2-4, 3.12) are slated to square off. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CDT on a clear, mild Chicago night. Highlights: Kyle Hendricks: *throws Opening Day shutout vs. MIL*@ATMills37: “Hold my rosin bag.”@Pepsi pic.twitter.com/m5u7wGPxMp
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