Quintana makes first relief appearance at Wrigley Field

CHICAGO -- Through the 14 years he's spent in the Majors, four of which were spent with the Cubs, Jose Quintana was asked to do something Wednesday he had never done before: Come out of the bullpen in a game at Wrigley Field.

Each of his 45 career appearances at Wrigley had been as a starter -- prior to Game 3 of the National League Division Series between the Brewers and Cubs, when Milwaukee starter Quinn Priester failed to get out of the first inning, creating a need for an inning eater. Quintana did just that, spinning three-plus scoreless frames as part of a solid performance from the bullpen, which did not allow a run over 7 1/3 innings.

However, the early damage was enough for the Cubs to hang onto a 4-3 win and stay alive in the best-of-five series, which now stands at 2-1 Brewers. Quintana’s performance gave the bullpen a respite, putting the Brewers in a better spot for Game 4 while also bringing up questions of who might start a potential series-clinching Game 4 (or 5).

Quintana said postgame that he knew that pitching out of the bullpen was a possibility, even if he hadn’t appeared as a reliever since 2021. He landed on the injured list in mid-September with a left calf strain and did not appear in a game before the postseason started, meaning he would have to return with just live batting practices and bullpens to fall back upon as preparation.

There was no apparent rust in his first appearance since Sept. 14, and all five of his offerings registered one or two ticks higher on the radar gun than his season average during his 49-pitch outing. Working off of his sinker, he allowed just two hits and a walk, struck out a pair and stifled the Cubs’ bats after a four-run first inning.

“They had the momentum at the time, and that was my mission,” Quintana said. “To slow the game down and give us a chance to come back.”

Quintana did that -- as did Grant Anderson and Chad Patrick, who combined for 11 outs. It was for naught in terms of winning Game 3, but it did save a good chunk of the bullpen for another chance to advance on Thursday.

“A huge part of the game, and he gave us a chance,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Quintana. “That experience and that poise, he threw the ball great and gave us a chance to win the game. Three innings in that moment right there was huge. Kept us from going deeper into our pen and all that.”

Murphy said afterwards that he hadn’t decided yet who will be his Game 4 starter. Even with Quintana out of the mix, Murphy still has a couple of options.

Game 1 starter Freddy Peralta will be on regular rest and could very well be the guy. He is the ace of the staff and did well at Wrigley Field this season, striking out 12 with just three runs allowed over 11 innings in his two starts at the ballpark.

But it’s the postseason. The most obvious answer isn’t always the one that comes to fruition.

Case in point: Aaron Ashby started Game 2, with Murphy acknowledging that he could potentially go three or four innings before that start. Ashby did not appear in Wednesday’s contest, but he did get loose in the bullpen twice.

There is also rookie lefty Robert Gasser. He missed most of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he did make two brief starts at the end of the season, totaling 5 2/3 innings.

"I'm ready for anything,” Gasser said. “Maybe they'll go to the horses, but I've got multiple [innings] in me. I'm good to go. The arm feels great. Whatever they need, I'm here for."

The Brewers don’t have to announce a starter yet, but Quintana’s performance gives them options now. Should they advance, having an outing under his belt could also open up how he is used moving forward.

The Brewers have to win first, of course, but getting Quintana going is not the worst consolation.

“Big time. That’s huge for me,” Quintana said. “It was so frustrating at the end of the season when I got that injury. [To] come back in that situation to help the team save a couple arms with the couple innings I threw … that was amazing. Great feeling to come back. It feels great, fresh.”