Alec Mills has experienced what Cubs closer Brandon Morrow will endure the next two months, and Morrow’s patience will be tested as much as his healing powers.

“I had to do two months of absolutely nothing,” Mills said.

In 2017, Mills didn’t pitch from May 12 to Aug. 19 because of a bone bruise in his right pitching forearm — an injury Morrow currently is experiencing.

“It’s frustrating, but (the doctors) know what they’re doing,” he said. “You have to listen.”

The layoff was tougher for Mills because his injury occurred early in the season when he was with Triple-A Iowa and he was limited to rehabilitation and arm care with no throwing for an extended period.

“It stinks,” said Mills, who threw 15 of 18 pitches for strikes during two scoreless innings Tuesday. “It’s our jobs. We want to be pitching and contributing as much as we can. But it’s part of the business. So it happens. You have to take it as it comes and do the best you can.”

Mills said he would try to take his mind off baseball once he left the Cubs complex in Arizona, where he performed his rehab in the summer heat.

Softer is better: Kyle Hendricks can afford to relax before his next scheduled start Sunday against the White Sox and left-hander Carlos Rodon.

“I have the soft contact up and the home runs down,” Hendricks said of his recent outings.

Since the start of August, Hendricks has allowed three home runs in 56 1/3 innings, a significant improvement from his 19 homers allowed in 127 innings over the first four months.

In Monday’s 5-1 victory over the Diamondbacks, Hendricks succeeded without enticing the batters to chase elevated fastballs, a ploy he has tried in the past.

“It was a different kind of game where I was able to establish (the strike zone) down early,” said Hendricks, who lost his shot at a shutout when A.J. Pollock led off the ninth with a home run. “I might have thrown only five to 10 (elevated fastballs). I ran some balls in on batters. I threw enough change-ups for strikes early that I was able to get them to chase pitches down. When you can’t get hitters to chase down, that’s when you have to elevate more or change your game plan. But when you keep going to it and get those swings, it’s something you can stick to until you have to change.”

Safe from Hurricane Florence: Reliever Dillon Maples reported his family was safe after enduring Hurricane Florence in his native North Carolina.

“They just got hammered with a ton of rain,” Maples said.

mgonzales@chicagotribune.com