Alec Mills’ composure Sunday was nearly as deceptive as his curveball.
The mild-mannered Mills admitted he went to the visiting clubhouse during the top of the ninth inning Sunday to control his emotions, needing three outs to join an elite group in baseball history.
When Mills returned, the former walk-on pitcher at Tennessee-Martin, who was out of minor-league options entering the 2020 season, retired the final three Milwaukee Brewers batters to complete the 16th no-hitter in Chicago Cubs history as they coasted to a 12-0 victory at Miller Park in Milwaukee.
The final out was especially memorable to Mills, as shortstop Javier Baez yelled before throwing to first base to complete the masterpiece.
“Talk about confidence,” Mills said of Baez.
Talk about a transformation.
Mills, 28, was making only his 15th major-league start and 28th major-league appearance. He earned the fifth spot in the Cubs rotation only after Jose Quintana cut a nerve in his left thumb before summer training.
And Mills (5-3) allowed eight runs on 11 hits in eight innings over two starts on Aug. 29 and Sept. 3, casting some doubt about his reliability in the wake of injuries to Tyler Chatwood and Quintana.
But Mills responded with six shutout innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday. And then came Sunday’s no-hitter, in which he threw his sharp-breaking curve early in the count with confidence.
“That’s something I’ll be sharing with my family and friends for a long time,” Mills said of his journey. “I’m just proud to be able to be that person that can tell you to never give up. Never stop playing, never let people tell you what you can and can’t do, and just keep persevering and be the best person you can be.”
Manager David Ross, who caught the Cubs’ last no-hitter, thrown by Jake Arrieta in 2016 in Cincinnati, described his participation in this one as a “proud parent moment.”
Mills completed the feat one day short of the 12th anniversary of Carlos Zambrano’s no-hitter against the Houston Astros at Miller Park, which was used because of Hurricane Ike. The Cubs have the distinction of throwing the only no-hitters at Miller Park.
Mills struck out five, the fewest by a Cubs pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Ken Holtzman didn’t strike out any Atlanta Braves hitters in 1969, and walked three in a 114-pitch effort.
Before Sunday, Mills had thrown only one complete game in his professional career — at Class A Wilmington in 2015.
Five years after the Kansas City Royals selected him in the 22nd round of the 2012 draft, the Cubs acquired Mills in a deal for minor-league outfielder Donnie Dewees. The trade gradually paid off.
“I don’t really know what to say,” Mills said. “It’s just very overwhelming, obviously a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing that I’ll always remember.”
Mills’ masterpiece completed a dramatic change for the Cubs dating to the ninth inning of Saturday’s 4-2 comeback win. They were limited to six hits and struck out 26 times in their first 17 innings against the Brewers before scoring four times in the ninth off All-Star reliever Josh Hader.
Mills’ no-hitter, combined with the St. Louis Cardinals’ loss to the Reds, extended the Cubs’ lead in the National League Central to four games with 12 left.
After Saturday’s game, Mills joked with Kyle Hendricks, who threw 7? innings of two-run ball, that he was going to outdo him.
And after the Cubs took advantage of two errors to take a 5-0 lead in the fourth, the only question was whether Mills would complete his no-hit bid.
Ross, sensing what was developing, pulled Kyle Schwarber after he struck out to end the sixth and inserted Billy Hamilton in center field, moving Ian Happ from center to left.
Ironically, Mills praised Schwarber for catching a drive by Christian Yelich that was slicing away from him in the fourth.
Happ made a running catch to rob Jedd Gyorko of an extra-base hit near the fence in center in the second.
Ross wanted to pull right fielder Jason Heyward to give him extra rest with a day off Monday, but Heyward successfully pleaded to stay in the game because he wanted to support Mills.
“It means a lot,” Mills said of Heyward’s gesture.
Mills and the Cubs survived a scare when Baez paused momentarily after fielding a grounder by Avisail Garcia, but Baez’s throw barely beat Garcia for the final out of the sixth.
Mills didn’t throw more than 19 pitches in any inning, leaving him with plenty of energy entering the ninth.
He struck out Tyrone Taylor on a 90 mph fastball for the second out. He fell behind 3-0 on Jace Peterson before getting him to hit a hard grounder up the middle, where Baez was stationed perfectly to field the ball, yell and make the throw.
“I just wanted the ball hit to me,” said Baez, who relied on coach Andy Green to position him correctly because he didn’t have a scouting card on Taylor or Peterson. “We’re going to be part of this for life.”
Mills planned to call his wife and parents after the hoopla settled down. Second baseman Jason Kipnis took a video of Mills’ cellphone as it was constantly buzzing with congratulatory messages.
Ross was extremely pleased that Victor Caratini was able to catch Mills’ no-hitter.
“I know what that feels like,” said Ross, who caught Arrieta’s no-hitter in his last season as a player. “That’s awesome.”
Because of COVID-19 protocols, Cubs fans weren’t able to witness Mills’ no-hitter in person.
But Ross said there was ample support from the dugout and bullpen, which he could hear cheering after every out.
“That was fun from a manager standpoint,” Ross said, “to sit back and just watch it all kind of unfold.”