A growing number of Mets fans are hoping for a change in the starting rotation, and they’ll have to wait.
Jose Quintana isn’t going anywhere after this fight.
The veteran left-hander, who had failed to get an out in the fifth inning in either of his previous two starts, has picked the perfect time to put on his best performance of the season, especially with young pitchers Jose Butt and Christian Scott performing well in Triple-A.
Quintana pitched six innings and allowed just one solo home run by Jackson to lead the Mets to their fourth straight victory, 5-1, against the Padres on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.
“I needed this kind of outing,” he said.
The 35-year-old Quintana, a free agent, pitched well for the first time in a while, allowing only two hits, walking two and striking out six batters.
The left-hander had a 7.20 ERA in May and was shaky in two starts in June, giving up six runs in 7 2/3 innings against the Phillies and Diamondbacks, with a 5.29 ERA and 1.43 WHIP.
He was clearly better against the Padres.
Quintana focused on pitching inside balls away from home plate to set up his offspeed pitches, and it paid off.
His six strikeouts were a season-high, his two hits were a season-low, and his strikeouts increased from two to eight.
The big change for him has been catcher Francisco Alvarez, who returned for this homestand after missing six weeks with a torn ligament in his left thumb.
“It’s great, I’ve really missed him,” Quintana said. “Great energy, he always brings good ideas. He’s a really special guy. [pitching to] He’s always on top.”
San Diego failed to get a batter on base more than once in Quintana’s six innings.
His only big mistake came in the fifth inning, when Merrill hit a 411-foot inside sinker for his seventh home run.
Deniel Nunez took the mound for the Mets in the sixth inning and walked Fernando Tatis Jr. with one out, but Quintana got Jurickson Profar into a 5-4-3 double play to end his day.
“When it ended with a double play, it felt great,” Quintana said. “My pitch was really good. As soon as I saw the grounder I said, ‘We won.’ It’s a good win. It’s fun when you do stuff like this. Baseball is fun.”
