ST. LOUIS — Jose Quintana became the first Milwaukee Brewers pitcher to win his first four starts for the team since CC Sabathia in 2008.
“To hear his name, I mean, he’s … a Hall of Fame pitcher,” Quintana said about Sabathia. “It’s good to hear that. He’s great. I’m really glad to be in the same position as him. CC was one of the best pitchers in the game. I followed him a lot. I faced him a couple of times.”
The 36-year-old Quintana (4-0) helped Milwaukee snap a four-game losing streak in a 7-1 win Sunday afternoon over one of his former clubs, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Quintana struck out six in five innings to pick up the victory. He allowed one run on five hits and three walks. He has given up just three runs in 23 2/3 innings over the four starts.
“He’s been a godsend,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “He was around the zone all day. Typically, he stayed relentless.”
All six of Quintana’s strikeouts against St. Louis were called third strikes.
“That was a cool part of the game,” Quintana said. “I’m happy with that. When I’m getting them looking, that means sometimes they’re sitting on another pitch or maybe looking the other way. It’s good to get strikeouts.”
His two biggest punchouts came when the Cardinals put two runners on base in the third inning with one out in the third. Quintana escaped the jam when he fanned Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado on sinkerballs.
“My sinker is moving way better,” Quintana said. “It’s good to get a couple of punches with that pitch. It’s good to be aggressive.”
The only St. Louis run off Quintana came in the fifth inning when Donovan hit an RBI double.
The Brewers signed the well-traveled Quintana as a free agent in March. He agreed to a one-year, $4.25 million contract.
Quintana spent the past two seasons with the Mets, who signed him to a two-year, $26 million deal prior to the 2023 campaign. Milwaukee is Quintana’s eighth big league team.
Earlier this month, Quintana became the fourth active pitcher to record victories over all 30 MLB teams.
