WASHINGTON — Jose Quintana has pitched on the Fourth of July before, but never as a U.S. citizen.
The veteran left-handed pitcher from Colombia, who became a U.S. citizen during spring training this year, enjoyed the day to the fullest.
He also had a stellar pitching performance in the Mets’ 1-0 loss to the Nationals, nearly saving the win.
“A lot of my teammates said congratulations and I’m so glad for you,” Quintana said of his first Independence Day as a U.S. citizen. “It means a lot to me and my family.”
The first pitch was thrown at 11:05 a.m., forcing Quintana to change his routine of sleeping until 9 a.m.
He said he was up by 7 and had breakfast by 7:30.
He likened the experience to spring training and reporting to workouts every day.
He pitched seven scoreless innings on the day, continuing his steady improvement over the past three weeks.
He has pitched at least six innings in three of his last four starts and allowed one earned run or less.
Quintana attributes the improvement to an adjustment to his motion — his ERA dropped from 5.29 to 4.22 in his last four starts — but pitching coach Jeremy Heffner cited a change in his delivery method.
“I think we just went back to simplifying it a little bit,” Heffner said. “Maybe we were over-processing a little bit of what we were seeing and what the computer was saying and so on. We just went back to simplifying it and executing.”
Quintana’s appearance was his longest since April 28, when he pitched eight innings and allowed just one run against the Cardinals at Citi Field.
“I’m trying to use my strengths and the strengths of my hitters more,” Quintana said.
The Mets could be looking to bolster their starting pitching before the trade deadline in order to strengthen other areas or add a top prospect.
Quintana, who is set to become a free agent after this season, could be a pitcher the Mets consider trading for.
“I think we need to focus more on ourselves because we’re racing well right now,” Quintana said. “As for the trades, I’ve been in a similar position before, so I just want to be prepared and compete every five days and see what happens.”
