Jose Quintana gets the ball in Game 1 for the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers and this was absolutely the right call by Joe Maddon.
The Cubs and Dodgers are set for a rematch of last year’s NLCS after getting past the Washington Nationals in a tension-filled five-game series. The Cubs had to nearly exhaust all their options in the bullpen in their 9-8 win on Thursday night, leaving only Justin Wilson and starter John Lackey in the pen. The Cubs didn’t want to, but they had to use starter Jose Quintana to get two outs in relief in Game 5, which put some doubt about his Game 1 availability. After sleeping on it for two nights, the Cubs brass has decided to go with Quintana as the Game 1 starter.
Maddon didn’t have the full complement of his starters available for Game 1 with Jon Lester pitching in relief of Jake Arrieta in Game 4 on Wednesday and with Kyle Hendricks starting Game 5 on Thursday night. The decision came down to Quintana or Lackey who hasn’t pitched in the postseason. Lackey is well-rested but isn’t an ideal starter to open the NLCS.
It would have made for a unique story considering Lackey has been the object of derision by many Cubs fans for his intense personality and propensity to give up home runs. But Maddon made the correct decision to put Quintana on the hill against the Dodgers.
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This is what the Cubs envisioned when they traded their top prospect Eloy Jimenez along with three other prospects in the 4-for-1 trade with the Chicago White Sox in July. He made his postseason debut in Game 3, a Cubs win, and will go head-to-head with Clayton Kershaw, widely regarded as the best pitcher in baseball, despite a spotty postseason resume, and one of the greatest of all time.
Don’t expect the pressure to exceed the pleasure for Quintana in Game 1. He won’t let the big stage get to him. The Dodgers have a talented lineup, even without All-Star shortstop Corey Seager who is not on the postseason roster with a back injury
, but the Cubs are in good hands with one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball.
Win or lose, don’t second-guess Maddon for starting Quintana. This was the best option of his limited options. There will be many managerial decisions for you to question in this best-of-seven series but starting Quintana in Game 1 is not one of them to criticize.