Chicago Cubs: Ranking Alec Mills’ no-hitter in history

Today, we rank all 16 Chicago Cubs no-hitters in order of dominance.

The no-hitter thrown Sunday in Milwaukee by Alec Mills was the 16th in the long history of the Chicago Cubs.

Not all no-hitters, however, are created equal. Some are partially marred by bases on balls, errors, and even – very occasionally – runs.

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How does Mills’ no-hitter measure up against the other 15 thrown in Cubs history?

Bill James some years ago developed a tool for comparing pitching performances. James calls it Game Score. There are eight components:

• Base of 50 points
• Add one for each out recorded.
• Add two for each inning completed after the fourth.
• Add one for each strikeout.
• Subtract two for each hit allowed.
• Subtract for four each earned run allowed.
• Subtract two for each unearned run allowed.
• Subtract one for each walk allowed.

In case you are wondering which no-hit pitcher holds the franchise record for the highest Game Score, the answer is …none of them. On May 6, 1998, Cubs rookie Kerry Wood shut out the Houston Astros 2-0 in a 20-strikeout complete-game performance. Wood did not walk anybody, but he did allow one scratch hit in the second inning that denied him no-hit fame.

Wood’s Game Score for that 20-strikeout, one-hit outing? It was a franchise-record 105.

Mills became the 12th different Cubs pitcher to record a no-hitter. One of the dozen, John Clarkson, is a Hall of Famer. Another, Larry Corcoran, not only threw the franchise’s first no-hitter on Aug. 19, 1880, he also threw the second and third.

The last to do so before Mills was Jake Arrieta, who threw one against the Dodgers on Aug. 30, 2015, then duplicated it in Cincinnati April 21, 2016.

From least to most impressive, here’s the lineup of all-time Cubs no-hitters.

Chicago Cubs legend Ken Holtzman’s no-hitter had a game score of 84.

Holtzman’s first no-hitter, thrown at Wrigley Field against the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 19, 1969, achieved a Game Score of 84, which is very good by any standard except the no-hit standard.

Holtzman’s gem is memorable for a couple of reasons. The first is that he pitched it without resorting to even a single strikeout. But Holtzman coerced a dozen outfield putouts and another dozen infield assists, seven of them by second baseman Glenn Beckert.

The second memorable moment occurred when Hank Aaron led off the seventh inning. Aaron launched a high drive toward the left-field ivy. At first, the ball appeared destined for the first row of bleachers, but at the last second, a gust of wind blew the ball back from left-center in the direction of the foul line. That brought it into the deeper left field well, where Billy Williams was able to catch it with his back against the vines.

Holtzman walked three batters in winning for the 14th time against seven defeats.

Unfortunately, Holtzman’s gem was probably the season-high point for Chicago. The Chicago Cubs walked off the field leading the NL East by eight full games with just 40 more to play. But they went 15-25 down the stretch and were overtaken by the Mets, who went on to win the World Series.

Tied with a score of 86 are Chicago Cubs vets Walter Thornton and Sam Jones.

Thornton was a pitcher-outfielder who went 13-10 for the team known at the time as the Orphans. One of his final appearances came August 21 in the second game of a doubleheader against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Chicago’s West Side Park. Chicago won 10-0.

Thornton only struck out two, but he only walked one opponent. The Dodgers’ only other baserunner came on a fielding error by Chicago center fielder Bill Lange.

Jones’ 1955 no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates was memorable for at least two reasons. In completing the feat, he became the first African-American to do so. He also intensified the drama with one of the most remarkable ninth innings even muddled through by a no-hit pitcher.

On a rainy day at Wrigley Field, only 2,918 paid to actually see the game. Through the first eight innings, Jones had walked four and his teammates had played errorless ball behind him. The Chicago Cubs led 4-0 thanks to RBIs by Ernie Banks, Ted Tappe, and Eddie Miksis. Gene Freese batted first for the Pirates in the ninth, fouled off a bunt attempt, then took four bad pitches for a base on balls.

The next batter, Preston Ward, worked a 2-2 count before Jones threw a wild pitch, sending Freese to second.  Ward walked on the next pitch.

Tom Saffell, a rookie, batted third and he also walked, loading the bases. With relievers busy in the Cubs bullpen, manager Stan Hack called time and met Jones for a mound conference.

Whatever Hack told Jones, it worked. With the bases full and both the no-hitter and game on the line, he struck out Dick Groat looking at a curveball, fanned Roberto Clemente, and got Frank Thomas to go down looking at another curve.

With a no-hitter on the line, Jones had walked the bases full…then struck out the side.

With a score of 87, former Chicago Cubs starters Burt Hooton and Larry Corcoran.

Hooton was a rookie starting only the second game of the 1972 season when he blanked the Phillies without a hit on April 16. In doing so, Hooton relied on his unique pitch, one he called a “knuckle curve.”

Hooton almost didn’t get a chance to make history. Chicago awoke to biting mid-April temperatures and a biting north wind. That combined with the projected attendance of less than 10,000 made team officials ponder whether to let the game go on. “To think we almost called it off,” a relieved Chicago Cubs GM John Holland mused afterward.

He fought ongoing control issues, walking seven batters but also striking out seven. The Cubs played errorless ball behind him and rode Randy Hundley’s two RBIs to a 4-0 win.

Hooton would compile an 11-14 record in 1972 but be traded to the Dodgers in mid-season 1975.

Corcoran’s 1880 no-hitter, achieved Aug. 19 against the Boston Beaneaters at Chicago’s Lake Park Grounds. The team then known as the White Stockings won 6-0 on 11 hits, four of them by center fielder George Gore.

Just 10 days before, Corcoran had pitched a one-hitter against Providence. This time four Bostons reached base, one on a walk and three on Chicago fielding errors.

Corcoran would compile a 43-14 record in 1880 while leading Chicago to the National League pennant.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Larry Corcoran returns with a game score of 88.

Corcoran’s second no-hitter came against Worcester, at the time a National League team, Sept. 20 at Lake View Park on the final home date of the 1882 season.

He could thank his fielders. “Several very good hits were made by Worcester, but each one of them was grabbed by (third baseman Ned) Williamson, (second baseman Joe) Quest, shortstop Tommy (Burns) or (right fielder Mike) Kelly.”

Chicago backed Corcoran’s pitching with nine hits, two each by the team’s offensive stars, Kelly and Cap Anson. One of Kelly’s hits was a double. The  White Stockings made four errors behind Corcoran, two by right fielder Silver Flint.

Corcoran struck out three and walked two.

Only 1,500 fans paid to see the White Stockings wrap up a third straight pennant-winning season, although they hadn’t quite wrapped up the pennant by the time Corcoran left the mound. His win left his team one game ahead of Providence in the standings with seven games remaining, all of them on the road. Chicago won six of those seven and finished three games ahead of Providence.

Corcoran was a main reason why. He compiled a 27-12 record with a 195 ERA in 39 starts, 38 of them complete games.

A tie between Chicago Cubs pitchers Alec Mills, Jake Arrieta, and Ken Holtzman.

Mills walked three Brewers Sunday and fanned five of them on the way to his 12-0 victory. It was the first complete game of his career.

In his April 21, 2016 no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American ballpark, Arrieta walked four and struck out six. If it’s possible to overshadow a no-hitter, the Chicago Cubs offense may have done so. They produced 16 runs to ease Arrieta’s way, Kris Bryant driving in six runs with four hits, two of them home runs.

The second no-hitter of Holtzman’s career came June 3, 1971, against the defending National League champion Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium. He had to subdue a lineup including Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, and George foster. Holtzman did get one break; all-time hit leader Pete Rose did not play in that game.

The Cubs’ offense didn’t make Holtzman’s life very easy. Facing Reds starter Gary Nolan, Cubs hitters scraped together just one run,. That came in the third inning and Holtzman himself scored it after reaching base on a Perez fielding error. Don Kessinger’s ground out got Holtzman to second, and he came home on Glenn Beckert’s base hit to right field.

Holtzman fanned Tommy Helms and Lee May for the game’s final two outs.

We travel back to the 19th century for Chicago Cups pitcher John Clarkson.

The only Hall of Famer to deliver a no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs, Clarkson pitched his on July 27, 1885, against the defending league champion Providence Grays at that city’s Messer Street Grounds.

The White Stockings beat future Hall of Famer Charles ‘Old Hoss’ Radbourn 4-0.

Clarkson walked nobody, leaving only five fielding errors to mar his performance. But the no-hitter was saved by right fielder King Kelly, who threw out a Providence hitter at first base, erasing what in usual circumstances would have been a base hit. “Especially expert,” The Chicago Tribune correspondent called Kelly’s work.

Clarkson went on to compile a 53-16 record in 1885, winning the National League pennant with Clarkson as the star.

The outcome was pivotal both for Clarkson and also for the entire Providence franchise. Although the team had won the 1879 and 1884 pennants, attendance was consistently disappointing. Two-day slater, team stockholders met and agreed to offer the team for sale.

When there were no suitable buyers, the Providence team was disbanded at the season’s end. The Grays, 1884 World Series winners, remains the only recognized World Champion team that no longer exists.

Clarkson was sold to Boston following the 1887 season. He continued to pitch until 1894, retiring with 328 career victories.

Tied with a score of 92, Chicago Cubs pitchers Milt Pappas and Larry Corcoran.

Pappas’ 1972 no-hit performance against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley field is memorable for how close he came to recording a perfect game. To his dying day, Pappas believed he had been robbed of that immortality by the persnickety eye of plate umpire Bruce Froemming.

On Sept. 2 of that season, Pappas set down the first 26 Padres he faced largely without incident. The 27th  batter was pinch hitter Larry Stahl.  The Chicago Cubs led 8-0 at the time, so the game outcome was little in doubt.

Pappas worked Stahl to a 1-2 count, then threw two pitches he thought caught the corner for a potential strike three. Froemming disagreed and called both of them balls as Pappas gestured visibly upset.

His 3-2 pitch also missed outside, giving Stahl a base on balls.

The next batter, Gary Jestadt, lofted an easy pop up behind second that Carmen Fanzone took in for the final out. If ever there was a letdown in a no-hitter, that was it.

Corcoran’s 1884 no-hitter at Chicago’s lake-Front Park was the third of his career. Like Clarkson’s one year later, it came against Providence, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that the Grays were well on their way to winning the National League championship. The White Stockings won 6-0.

He struck out six, and walked just one, making this no-hitter the most impressive of his three.

The Chicago Tribune’s correspondent marveled at Corcoran’s dominance. “As a rule, the hits made by the visitors were easy to handle,” he wrote.

Corcoran and his mound opponent, Charles Sweeney, dueled through six scoreless innings before the White Stockings broke through for three runs in the seventh. Cap Anson, Ned Williamson, and Tommy Burns all delivered two-hit performances, and Fred Pfeffer homered.

With a game score of 93, Chicago Cubs pitcher Don Cardwell.

Cardwell’s May 15, 1960 no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals is well-recalled today in part because it is one of the first no-hitters for which at least partial video exists. In the case of Cardwell’s no-hitter, that video largely focuses on the final out, which you can view on Youtube.

With two out in the ninth and Chicago leading 4-0, Cardwell stared in at Cardinal outfielder Joe Cunningham. To that point, Cardwell had allowed just one base-runner, a first-inning walk issued to Alex Grammas.

The ninth had been especially perilous. The first Cardinal batter, pinch hitter Carl Sawatski, lined a shot into right field that George Altman ran down. The next hitter, George Crowe, drove a Cardwell pitch deep into right-center field that appeared destined for the bleachers. But it died at the warning track and center fielder Richie Ashburn took it in.

That brought up Cunningham, who worked a full count and then looped a sinking liner into short left field. Walt Moryn, a stocky player hardly known for his fielding grace, loped in and snatched the ball off the turf to preserve the no-hitter.

The event was all the more dramatic because the Chicago Cubs had just acquired Cardwell from Philadelphia a few days earlier; he was making his first appearance in a Chicago uniform. He would finish 8-14 in 26 starts for the Cubs.

With a score of 94, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jimmy Lavender lands in the top three.

On Aug. 31, 1915, Lavender no-hit the New York Giants 2-0 at the Polo Grounds.

Lavender was in his fourth season of a six-year career with the Chicago Cubs and Phillies; he would retire following the 1917 season with a 63-76 record. For the fourth-place Cubs, he was an inconspicuous 10-16 in 24 starts in 1915.

Lavender faced off against Rube Schauer in the first game of a doubleheader that afternoon, walking just one and striking out eight. There was one error made behind him, that by shortstop Bob Fisher.

Lavender got all the offensive backing he needed from outfielder Cy Williams, who homered and doubled. Fisher also produced two hits.

The key to the defense behind Lavender was Lavender himself. He recorded five assists thanks to the Giants’ futile habit of continually bouncing weak grounders back to him.

It was the highlight of a neutral day for the Cubs. In the day’s second game, New York’s Rube Benton beat Hippo Jim Vaughn 7-1 behind a 12-hit Giant offense led by former Cub Heinie Zimmerman’s three hits.

The victory evened Lavender’s season record at 9-9. But Lavender followed his gem by lapsing into a stretch of bad luck. In his next three starts, he allowed a total of just seven runs but got just three runs of support and lost all three.

The most dominant no-hitter in Chicago Cubs history, Jake Arrieta with a 98.

Arrieta’s first no-hitter – against the Dodgers Aug. 30, 2015, at Dodger Stadium, came in the midst of one of the most dominant stretches any pitcher has ever enjoyed.

Between Aug. 4, 2015, and May 25, 2016, Arrieta went 20-0 over a 156-inning stretch, with a 0.98 earned run average. That stretch encompassed both Arrieta’s previously noted April 21, 2016 no-hitter against Cincinnati and his Los Angeles no-hitter.

At Dodger Stadium Arrieta struck out a dozen and allowed just two base runners. With one out in the third, Enrique Hernandez reached on a Starlin Castro error.  With two out in the sixth, Jimmy Rollins drew a base on balls.

Those were footnotes against Arrieta, who got all the support he needed before he ever threw a pitch. In the top of the first inning, Chris Denorfia walked and Kris Bryant drove an Alex Wood pitch into the bleachers for a two-run home run.

The Chicago Cubs would work over Dodger pitchers for a dozen more hits, although they would never push another run across the plate. Nor, thanks to Arrieta, would they need to.

The Cubs pitcher was the dominant start to finish. He demonstrated his mastery in the bottom of the ninth, finishing off the Dodgers by whiffing Justin Turner, Rollins, and Chase Utley.