Quintana Helps Mets Advance With Stellar Outing

The New York Mets are going to the NLDS! I still cannot believe Pete Alonso did what he did last night, and I’m sure many of you feel the same way. That swing and that home run will be remembered for a very long time, and rightfully so. Without Jose Quintana, however, I’m not sure the Mets are in a position to win the game late.

The Milwaukee Brewers got the leadoff man on in the first inning, but Quintana retired the next three hitters to keep the game scoreless. They got the leadoff man on in the second as well and couldn’t push a run across. It was more of the same in the fourth inning, as Quintana once again worked around trouble and kept the Brewers off the board. I hope you are sensing a theme here. Milwaukee had a few really good at-bats against the veteran left-hander, but his “bend but don’t break” mentality showed as he executed in every critical spot.

Through five innings, Quintana sat at 77 pitches. At that point, it seemed as though it was the right time for Carlos Mendoza to turn to the bullpen. After all, the Brewers did that with their own starting pitcher in Tobias Myers. Mendoza, however, opted to instead give Quintana a chance to go back out there for the sixth. That decision paid off, as he retired William Contreras, Willy Adames and Gary Sánchez in order, with the last two resulting in strikeouts. Quintana’s final line was six innings, no runs, four hits, one walk and five strikeouts on 94 pitches.

“I’ve been in this position sometimes, but never like this,” Quintana said after the game. “Hopefully we get more chances like that.”

This wasn’t the first time he found success in October, either. Over six career appearances (five starts) in the postseason, Quintana has a 2.92 ERA. He has thrown 11 1/3 scoreless innings in a row during the playoffs as well, dating back to his time with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022.

The Mets have four veterans in the rotation they can lean on in Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, David Peterson and Quintana, all of whom are pitching well. It will be interesting to see how Mendoza lines his starters up for the club’s upcoming series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Tylor Megill is the favorite to start Game One on Saturday. After that, though, I expect anything and everything to be a possibility. Quintana could pitch on normal rest Tuesday in Game Three or take an extra day and go on Wednesday in Game Four if the series goes that long.

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