The St. Louis Cardinals are set to face the Philadelphia Phillies at home for the best-of-three Wild Card series, beginning on Friday.
Game 2 will be on Saturday; and Game 3, if necessary, will take place on Sunday.
Manager Oliver Marmol announced his starter for Game 1, and the name may not be the one you imagined.
Left-hander Jose Quintana will be tasked with keeping the Phillies offense at bay in the first game of the series.
Marmol announces Quintana as Game 1 starter. #stlcards
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) October 6, 2022
With veteran Adam Wainwright still active and having a good season, one would have thought he was the one to get the nod, but Quintana isn’t a bad choice by any means.
He finished a strong 2022 with a brilliant 2.93 ERA: he was already good with the Pittsburgh Pirates (3.50 ERA in 103 frames) before being traded to St. Louis.
Quintana Was A Brilliant Trade Acquisition
Once he put on a Cardinals uniform, he took it up a notch and earned a brilliant 2.01 ERA in 62.2 innings.
He was everything Marmol needed for his rotation: a steady lefty to take the ball every five days and put the Cards in a position to compete.
His 1.67 second-half era makes him the right man for the assignment.
At this point of his career, Quintana does not rely on high velocity and strikeouts to get by.
He is, after all, 33.
However, he hits his spots and has great command, and limits hard contact as well as anybody in the big leagues.
The savvy veteran has his weapons, and will likely prove to be a handful for the Phillies offense.
The supremely talented Zack Wheeler will take the ball for the Phils in St. Louis, in what is shaping up to be a matchup for the ages.
NEXT: Yadier Molina Received A Proper Ovation On The Road