Carlos Mendoza was more than ready to end his day as a starting pitcher Sunday with two outs in the eighth inning.
But as the Mets manager approached the mound, Adam Ottavino warmed up in the bullpen, it became clear that Jose Quintana really wanted a shot on the final out.
After a brief conversation, the left-handed pitcher remained in the game and struck out Willson Contreras.
“That decision there was huge,” Mendoza said after the Mets beat the Cardinals 4-2 in the 11th inning on Mark Vientos’ walk-off home run. “But the way he threw the ball, I saw it on his face as I came up. I was sure I was going to get out of the dugout and go to Adam, but he , looking at the two left-handed pitchers he acquired, [beforehand] And the conviction in the conversation on the mound…I said, “Okay, this is your hitter.” ”
Contreras became the 11th consecutive batter to be retired by Quintana since the fifth inning.
Overall, Quintana allowed one earned run on three hits, three strikeouts, and one walk in eight innings of 99 pitches.
It was the longest start by a Mets pitcher since Justin Verlander pitched eight innings against the White Sox on July 19 last season. The Mets have never had a starting pitcher pitch until the seventh inning this season, and Quintana has never pitched beyond the fifth or third inning.
“I wanted to keep pitching and get a chance to get the W,” Quintana said of his on-mound conversation with Mendoza. “I told him this is my game.”
When the Mets squandered a scoring chance in the bottom of the inning with the score tied at 1-1, Quintana was unable to make a decisive hit.
But the mere fact that he was so deep into the game might have been surprising considering he needed 26 pitches in the first inning.
The Cardinals scored their only run against Quintana on Michael Ciani’s squeeze bunt in the fifth inning.
The rally started with Machine Winn’s leadoff double.
Ciani reached first on a Brett Batty bunt error, but it was the last Cardinals runner on base against Quintana.
“The key today was attacking the zone early,” Quintana said. “Seeing a few innings end early, making more contact and getting more outs. That’s part of me.”
