LOS ANGELES — In a game that holds the power to save or sink their season, the Brewers will likely turn to a man who has thrown a grand total of 49 pitches over the past month.
Left-hander Jose Quintana could factor heavily into Milwaukee’s pitching plan in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday, with the Brewers trailing the Dodgers, 2-0, in the series. It’s a reasonable assignment for Quintana, a 14-year veteran and one of Milwaukee’s most consistent starters during the regular season.
The trouble is Quintana suffered a left calf strain on Sept. 14 and spent the rest of that month recuperating. He did not reappear until Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Cubs, throwing 49 pitches over three scoreless innings. It was a promising outing for Quintana, who said he felt “great” and “was ready to keep going in that game.” But there are still no guarantees how much Quintana can give the Brewers against Los Angeles’ potent lineup — or how much manager Pat Murphy will ask him to.
“Postseason is completely different,” Quintana said. “You don’t have limits. You always face batter-by-batter, hitter-by-hitter and just focus to keep it going, because for all pitchers it can be short.”
The club will go with left-hander Aaron Ashby, who started Game 1 of the NLCS and tossed a scoreless frame, as its opener Thursday. The Dodgers will have left-handed hitters Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman lurking in the top half of their lineup, as they usually do, but manager Dave Roberts will intersperse them with potent right-handed hitters Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández.
On the other side of that chess match, Murphy will have rookie right-hander Jacob Misiorowski prepared to deliver bulk innings if needed, along with every reliever outside of Game 2 starter Freddy Peralta. The Brewers can be deliberate about how they deploy Quintana.
“Everybody knows what we’ve got,” Murphy said.
“I know we’re focused,” Roberts said. “I know we’re not going to beat ourselves. … If somebody is going to beat us, they’re going to have to beat us.”
That’s not an ideal outlook for Quintana, who thrives on soft contact, keeping the ball away from the barrel and coaxing opposing hitters to chase. He’s made a career of it. He’s very good at it. But at age 36, Quintana’s margin for error has slimmed. His strikeout rate during the regular season was the lowest of his career. His walk rate rose to its highest point since 2021, and his expected ERA (5.18) was more than a full run higher than his actual ERA (3.96), suggesting the left-hander enjoyed a run of good fortune.
The Dodgers, like the Brewers, are not a team that chases. They also punish mistakes as well as anyone and boasted the NL’s highest OPS against left-handed pitchers.
“I’ve been watching videos, the whole lineup … Shohei, Freddie, all the lefties are really, really tough,” Quintana said. “They are [some] of the best hitters in baseball. It’s always a challenge.”
None of this is to suggest Quintana will melt before the task. His big-game credentials — including a 3.25 ERA over nine career playoff appearances (seven starts) with the Cubs (2017), Cardinals (’22), Mets (’24) and Brewers (’25) — are solid. But there is no margin for error. One bad inning, and Quintana could be out of the game. One bad outing, and an already tenuous situation for the Brewers will look even bleaker.
Not that a 14-year veteran is sweating it.
“To get this opportunity, I think it’s a privilege,” Quintana said. “Right now, we are focused to win a game, the first game. And after, we can focus on another game. But L.A. always is a big crowd. It’s huge. The fans are amazing. We’ve been here before, so we know how it is.”
