Rewards for a no-hitter: Pizza and lots of texts
Three days after his no-hitter against the Brewers, which will forever be a part of baseball history, Cubs right-hander Alec Mills finally has had a chance to take it all in.
Mills, 28, says he celebrated with his wife, Paige, and his son, Carter, when the team returned from Milwaukee on Sunday night.
And what better way than with a meal from one of Chicago’s iconic pizza spots?
“Getting off the bus from Milwaukee, the wife and kid were out there, so that was pretty cool,” Mills said before the Cubs played Tuesday night in Cleveland. “[Paige] actually ordered Pequod’s. I hadn’t tried it yet. It was really good. I think it might be my favorite place I’ve tried in the city so far. That was a cool Chicago-style way to celebrate.”
It has been an overwhelming few days for Mills, who at one point had more than 320 text messages from people congratulating him on his no-no.
“[Monday] during Carter’s nap, I tried to take the time to get back to everybody, and it took awhile,” he said with a smile. “But you know, I’m thankful for everybody reaching out and congratulating me and stuff. I’m lucky to have that many people that want to do that. So I’ll always try to take the time to [respond].” Chatwood has setback, season likely over
With the regular season wrapping up fast, Cubs team president Theo Epstein was candid about injured players, saying any type of setback would effectively end the year for them.
That’s now the unfortunate reality for right-hander Tyler Chatwood, who suffered a setback during his rehab from a strained right forearm. He had been progressing quickly after being placed on the 10-day injured list and was preparing to begin throwing bullpens but was shut down after experiencing soreness.
The Cubs placed him on the IL on Sept. 1 after he hurt his forearm against the Reds two days earlier.
“I think he was trying to push himself to be back as soon as he could with knowing the timeframe the season was getting to, where he was at, feeling good,” manager David Ross said. “Just trying to get that next gear, [and it] wasn’t there. His heart was pushing him one way, but his body was trying to hold him back.”
While the news for Chatwood isn’t what the Cubs wanted, left-handers Jose Quintana and Andrew Chafin continue to make significant progress. Quintana threw a bullpen session Monday and all went well, Ross said. He’s scheduled to throw another bullpen session Wednesday, followed by a simulated game later in the week. Chafin is scheduled to throw a sim game Wednesday.