Cubs’ Alec Mills pitched to his strength in win over White Sox

Alec Mills came within two outs of a complete game Saturday night. | AP Photos

The Sox do well against fastballs, but Mills stuck with his formula in Saturday’s victory.

Coming off one of his worst starts, Alec Mills responded Saturday night with one of his best.

Mills threw 8 1/3 scoreless innings in the Cubs’ 7-0 victory over the White Sox. Over 103 pitches, Mills threw 59 strikes and according to Baseball Savant, used 37 sinkers and 31 four-seam fastballs to stymie an aggressive and powerful Sox lineup that’s known to feast on those kinds of pitches.

“It was one of those things where I’m going to pitch to my strengths,” Mills said Saturday. “I think I can locate the heater well and I think I had that tonight.”

Saturday’s outing was quite the contrast for Mills, whose previous outing was a four-inning, seven-run and 12-hit performance against the Royals.

“I thought, just the way he navigated, continued to throw strikes and not give free passes,” manager David Ross said. “Those things can really burn you, especially in a park like this with a lineup like they have.”

Wisdom’s defense
Patrick Wisdom is making headlines with his power, but that isn’t the only way he’s impressed Ross.

“He’s playing great defense as well,” Ross said. “There’s a lot to his game. He’s one of our better baserunners in my opinion for his skillset. I think there’s a lot to like there. He’s not a one-dimensional player. There’s a lot that he can do.”

Defensively, Wisdom has spent the bulk of his time at third base - where he made his 46th start Sunday - but has also played at first base, left field and right field. Wherever he’s gone, he’s done well, pleasantly surprising Ross, who’s confident in moving Wisdom around the diamond as needed.

“I didn’t know a lot about his defense,” Ross said. “You hear different things about everybody. I don’t ever trust what really is said until you get your eyes on him, get to see what real big-leaguers look like.”

Welcoming Rivas
Alfonso Rivas made his big-league debut Sunday, hitting eighth and playing first base. At Triple-A Iowa, the 24-year-old compiled .405 on-base percentage in 58 games, potentially giving the Cubs a contact-first option willing to take walks.

Ross is interested to see how that plays for Rivas in the majors.

“I really love the way he controls the zone and his at-bats seem to be professional every single time,” Ross said. “It’s a calmer at-bat.”

Adbert update
Ross said the Cubs are still working through what’s next for right-hander Adbert Alzolay but “hopefully he’s back sooner rather than later.”

Alzolay has been on the injured list since Aug. 14 with a left hamstring strain. Before the injury, Alzolay was 4-13 with a 5.16 ERA.

Next up
Zach Davies will start Tuesday in the opener of the Cubs’ brief two-game series at Minnesota. Justin Steele is scheduled to go Wednesday, making his fourth start in his audition for the 2022 rotation. In his first three, Steele has a 6.39 ERA and has allowed four home runs in 12 2/3 innings.

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