Mills, bullpen help Cubs bounce back, blank Marlins 2-0
CHICAGO (AP) — Alec Mills watched as the Chicago Cubs got battered in back-to-back games by the Miami Marlins. Things sure were different this time.
Mills and three relievers combined on a shutout and Chicago bounced back from two lopsided losses to beat Miami 2-0 Sunday and avoid a sweep.
“A lot of us starters have similar repertoires, but I think we’re all different in our own kind of way,” Mills said. “We kind of attacked maybe a little bit differently the first two days. I kind of changed it up, maybe worked a little bit more toward the inner half of the plate, especially against the righties.”
Outscored 21-3 in the previous two days at Wrigley Field, the Cubs squeezed out the win despite managing just four hits. They also extended their season-high streak of scoring no more than three runs to eight games.
But Chicago came out on top thanks to a solid start by Mills (3-1) and a perfect performance by the bullpen.
Marlins rookie Zach Thompson (1-2) took the hard-luck loss after holding the held the Cubs to one unearned run over four no-hit innings.
Pinch- hitter Patrick Wisdom opened the fifth against Miami reliever Ross Detweiler by singling on the 15th pitch of the atbat, hanging in after falling behind 0-2 and hitting nine foul balls to give himself more chances.
Wisdom later scored on Joc Pederson’s single to make it 2-0. The Cubs came away with the win after dropping five of six to fall into a first-place tie with Milwaukee in the NL Central.
MILLS, BULLPEN DOMINATE
Mills worked around six hits over five innings. The right- hander struck out three without a walk.
The bullpen shut down Miami the rest of the way, with Ryan Tepera throwing two innings and Andrew Chafin working the eighth before Craig Kimbrel came on in the ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances. Kimbrel also tied Jonathan Papelbon for ninth on baseball’s alltime saves list with 368.