Quintana Faces Suárez With LCS Trip at Stake

With a chance to go to the National League Championship Series for the first time in nine years, the Mets will send their hottest pitcher to the mound. His counterpart on the Phillies had a rocky second half.

Jose Quintana (10-10, 3.75 ERA) gave up two earned runs in 25 innings (0.72 ERA) in September, including seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball in a victory against the Phillies on Sept. 13 at Citizens Bank Park. He was dealing in the Wild Card round, too, throwing six scoreless against the Brewers last Thursday in the game that will be best remembered for Pete Alonso‘s go-ahead, ninth-inning home run.

Ranger Suárez (12-8, 3.46 ERA) was at his best in the first half. He was 10-4 with a 2.76 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, earning a trip to the All-Star Game. After the break, the 29-year-old lefty went 2-4 with a 5.65 ERA and 1.69 WHIP. He faced the Mets at Citi Field on Sept. 21, giving up two runs in five innings on a pair of solo home runs to Francisco Alvarez and Luisangel Acuña.

Suárez pitched well against New York in the first half, earning wins on May 15 at home (5 innings, two unearned runs) and on June 8 in London (5.2 innings, two earned runs).

In three starts against the Phillies this year, Quintana was 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA covering 16 innings. For his career, he is 1-2 with a 3.53 ERA in 12 starts, with 75 strikeouts vs. 17 walks in 66.1 innings. He made one playoff start against the Phils in 2022 when he hurled 5.1 scoreless innings for the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card round.

The 35-year-old is looking for his first career playoff win. He’s 0-1 with a 2.92 ERA in six postseason appearances (five starts).

Suárez has tossed 33 1/3 postseason innings, all for the Phillies in 2022-2023. He is 3-1 with a 1.62 ERA in nine appearances (seven starts). He has never gone longer than 5 1/3 innings in a playoff start.

One last thing to keep in mind: Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he would only use Zack Wheeler “in an emergency” tonight. The former Met pitched seven scoreless innings on Saturday.

The post Quintana Faces Suárez With LCS Trip at Stake appeared first on Metsmerized Online.