Jose Quintana is on his way to the postseason for the first time in his career. But before he gets there, he’ll have to make one final regular season start against the Reds.
If you recall, Quintana’s last start was a really good one. He threw a complete game shutout against the Milwaukee Brewers, featuring just three hits and one walk against a ridiculous 10 strikeouts.
And, as a matter of fact …
Jose Quintana's last start against the Brewers (complete game shutout) was the best start of his career by game score (96).
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) September 29, 2017
If he makes another great start, the Cubs will probably have to pitch him in one of the first two games of the NLDS. But there’s still so much up for grabs.
Opposing Quintana this afternoon, is Reds righty Robert Stephenson. Stephenson will be making his 11th start of the season tonight (and 19th of his career), following a quality start against the Red Sox: 6.0 IP, 5H, 2ER, 2BB, 4Ks. He’s been fairly split neutral for his career, and he’ll face a Cubs lineup without a bunch of regulars.
Let’s see what he’s got.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (90-69) at Cincinnati Reds (67-92) – 1:20 CT on CSN-C, MLBN (out-of-market only), 670 The Score
Game Thread and Series Preview
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun today.
Starting Pitchers
Cubs: Jose Quintana (L): 4.06 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 3.76 xFIP; 3.31 K/BB
versus
Reds: Robert Stephenson (R): 4.86 ERA, 4.95 FIP, 4.96 xFIP; 1.69 K/BB
Cincinnati Reds:
- Phillip Ervin, CF
- Zach Cozart, SS
- Joey Votto, 1B
- Eguenio Suarez, 3B
- Jesse Winker, LF
- Jose Peraza, 2B
- Scott Schebler, RF
- Tucker Barnhart, C
- Robert Stephenson, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Jon Jay, CF
- Ben Zobrist, RF
- Tommy La Stella, 2B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Ian Happ, 3B
- Alex Avila, 1B
- Mike Freeman, SS
- Jose Quintana, P