Once again, José Quintana came up big.
The veteran left-hander fired five-plus crucial innings in the New York Mets’ 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in NLDS Game 4 on Wednesday night at Citi Field, keeping the score close before his team finally broke out offensively.
And while he collected a no-decision, Quintana was among the biggest reasons that the odds-defying Mets advanced past their NL East rival and booked their first trip to the NLCS since 2015.
Quintana limited the loaded Phillies lineup to one unearned run on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
“During the postseason, you never know how deep you’re gonna go,” Quintana said. “The most important thing is to give the team a chance to win. That always was my key and mindset.”
Quintana traded zeroes with Phillies starter Ranger Suarez, who escaped bases-loaded jams in the first and second innings.
The only damage against Quintana came in the fourth, when third baseman Mark Vientos bobbled a slow grounder off the bat of Alec Bohm, allowing Bryce Harper to score from third on what was ruled an error on a fielder’s choice.
The Mets trailed, 1-0, when Quintana exited in the top sixth to a standing ovation. In the bottom of that inning, the Mets took the lead in emphatic fashion, with Francisco Lindor slugging a go-ahead grand slam against Phillies closer Carlos Estevez.
“He’s got a lot of experience,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of Quintana. “He believes in himself, and he knows he’s good. He’s been through a lot, a lot of adversity, and he continues to find a way to get the job done.”
Quintana, a 13-year MLB veteran, was the Mets’ opening day starter this season, filling a vacancy left by ace Kodai Senga, who was diagnosed during spring training with a shoulder strain that kept him out for the season’s first four months.
The 35-year-old Quintana went 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA in 170.1 innings over 31 starts, but he stepped up down the stretch as the Mets scratched, clawed and eventually clinched the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
His 0.74 ERA over his final six starts was the lowest mark by any MLB starter between Aug. 25 and the end of the regular season.
Wednesday played out similarly to last week’s winner-take-all Game 3 in the Wild Card round in Milwaukee. Quintana hurled six scoreless innings that night but departed with the game still scoreless. Three innings later, Pete Alonso clubbed a go-ahead three-run home run off of Milwaukee closer Devin Williams to fuel the Mets’ instant-classic 4-2 victory.
“During the postseason, I always tell our guys, ‘There’s a lot of energy around us. Don’t let that energy push you too much. Just be focused on one pitch at a time and do your job,’” Quintana said. “I think keeping it simple helped me a lot.”
On Wednesday, the Mets also got 2.1 scoreless innings out of David Peterson, a starting pitcher who has starred in relief this postseason.
The Mets were still trailing when they turned to Peterson, a calculated risk considering it could have affected the left-hander’s availability in a potential NLDS Game 5. Peterson pitched three innings in Game 1 after Senga, who is on a reduced pitch count after returning from a calf strain, went two.
Now, a winner-take-all Game 5 won’t be necessary.
“We had an idea [for our Game 4 pitching plans], but it never goes the way you plan,” Mendoza said. “You can prepare for a lot of different situations, a lot of different scenarios, and the game will tell you differently. I’m glad that Quintana just gave us a chance.”
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