9 oddities surrounding Alec Mills' no-hitter
Mills, a former college walk-on who has yet to stick for a full season in the majors, never had pitched nine innings during a nine-year professional career until Sunday. He had one complete game in 170 career appearances in the minors and majors — a seven-inning CG for Single-A Wilmington in 2015.
First-year Cubs manager David Ross, who was the catcher for Jake Arrieta’s 2016 no-hitter, is one of only 11 to both catch and manage a no-hitter in the majors — and first to do both with the Cubs.
Hall of Fame catcher Roger Bresnahan might have had the chance to do it in 1915 as the Cubs’ player-manager in 1915. He caught 68 games that year but Jimmy Archer was his catcher for Jimmy Lavender’s no-hitter.
Mills, who debuted in 2016 and was a rookie until the end of last year, pitched a no-hitter in just his 15th big-league start, fewest for a first no-hitter since the Giants’ Chris Heston (13) in 2015. Only two Cubs since 1900 have recorded a no-hitter before their 15th starts: Sam Jones (ninth in 1955) and Burt Hooton (fourth) in 1972. Both were rookies.
MIlls’ no-hitter was the second by a Cub at Miller Park — first against the Brewers. As strange as these circumstances were for the rescheduled, shortened nature of this pandemic season without fans in the stadium, Carlos Zambrano’s 2008 no-hitter at Miller Park might have been just as strange.
That, too, was a rescheduled game — one of two Cubs-Astros games relocated from Houston because of Hurricane Ike. Mills’ no-no was one day shy of the 12th anniversary of Big Z’s gem against the Astros.
Mills now has one more no-hitter than Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Grover Cleveland Alexander and Yu Darvish combined. In fact, nine 300-game winners don’t have a no-hitter in their careers, and Mills has as many as one 400-game winner (Walter Johnson, 1920)
Mills’ performance marked the fourth time in 48 games this season that a Cubs starter has taken a no-hitter into at least the sixth inning.
Also on the list are Jon Lester (no hits in his five-inning season debut against the Reds) and Yu Darvish (6 1/3 innings against the Brewers Aug. 13 until a homer; and five perfect innings against the Cardinals Sept. 4 until a homer).
If there was a detail involving this no-hitter that involved longer odds than the fact it was essentially the Cubs’ sixth starter who threw it, it’s this: Two no-hitters have been thrown this season. One each by the Cubs and White Sox (Lucas Giolito, Aug. 25).
That’s the first time in the same season both Chicago teams have produced a no-hitter. And it happened during the shortest season in major-league history.
The 12-0 final score Sunday makes Mills’ no-no the fifth-most one-sided no-hitter in the post-1900 “modern” era. But it’s not the most lopsided for the Cubs — even in the last five years. The Cubs set the MLB record in that category during Arrieta’s 2016 no-hitter when they beat the Reds 16-0.
