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After being unsigned until March 5, Jose Quintana proved on Friday night that he still has plenty left in the tank. Making his season debut for the Milwaukee Brewers, the 36-year-old left-hander delivered a masterclass, tossing seven shutout innings in a 7-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Quintana, who hadn’t faced big-league hitters since last season, looked anything but rusty. He allowed just four hits — all singles — didn’t walk a batter, and struck out two across 80 efficient pitches, 50 of which were strikes. Even more impressive, he faced the minimum through six innings, thanks to a pair of double plays and a well-timed pickoff of Jake McCarthy in the third.
“Offensively, we just didn’t have a real good approach against Quintana,” said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. “He’s pitched a long time at this level, and he knows how to land pitches. He knows what’s going on at-bat to at-bat.”
Quintana gave the Brewers exactly what they needed, especially as their rotation continues to deal with early-season injuries. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy, who’s seen plenty of Quintana during his time in the league, was thrilled to be on the right side of one of the lefty’s vintage performances.
Brewers, Jose Quintana shine in win over Diamondbacks
“I told him I’ve seen that performance a bunch, but that’s the first time I’ve been happy about it,” Murphy joked postgame.
The Brewers gave Quintana some early breathing room thanks to small-ball execution and Arizona defensive miscues. Sal Frelick opened the scoring in the fourth with a well-placed RBI double that snuck past first baseman Josh Naylor, who was playing in for a bunt. Milwaukee added two more in the fifth after a passed ball by catcher Gabriel Moreno moved two runners into scoring position. Christian Yelich and William Contreras drove them in with productive outs.
D-backs starter Eduardo Rodríguez pitched well but was let down by his offense. The lefty gave up three runs (two earned) over 6.1 innings, striking out three and walking two. The Arizona lineup, missing All-Star Ketel Marte, struggled again against a left-handed starter — marking the second straight game they failed to score a run off a southpaw.
“We’ve got to be better against lefties,” Lovullo said. “I don’t like pull-side approaches. We want guys to stay quiet and use the whole field.”
The game remained within reach until the ninth, when Joe Mantiply was tagged for four runs, putting the game out of reach. Quintana, who is now pitching for his eighth MLB team, looks like an early bargain for the Brewers at $4.25 million. If his debut is any indication, Milwaukee may have found a steady veteran presence in their rotation — and just in time.
