José Quintana's Four-Seamer Made a Comeback on Friday Night

It may not have seemed that way based on the run column, but from a process standpoint, José Quintana’s start on Friday night was one of his best since returning from the injured list at the beginning of June.

“At the end of the day, I feel like I had things way better today,” he said. “Less walks, hitting my spots way better. It was a good game.”

It didn’t end how he wanted it to — the veteran bemoaned a one-out walk and RBI double that prompted his removal in the sixth inning — but despite allowing four earned runs in 5 ⅔ innings, Quintana was in many ways better than he has been in some of his more successful starts. He allowed only a 31.3% hard-hit rate, struck out five, and only walked two, the fewest free passes he’s issued in his five outings since that IL stint.

“Today, my mechanics were better. I attacked the hitters in a good way. The plan was really good. A lot of weak contact.”

Regression in the luck department had been looming for Quintana, who entered Friday with a 2.98 ERA but a more pedestrian 4.62 FIP thanks to a poor 1.44 K/BB ratio. His latest start shrunk that gap to a 3.30 ERA and a 4.41 FIP. Were it not for Rhys Hoskins dropping Joey Ortiz’s throw to first on a would-be double-play turn, Quintana’s three-run fifth inning might have been scoreless.

“If we make a play or another play or we do something a little different, he probably doesn’t give up a run,” Pat Murphy said. “Or maybe he gives up one, and we’re looking at a quality start.”

The bottom line is that Quintana looked sharper than he did in his last handful of starts. He also attacked hitters differently. Since the start of his second act in 2022, he showed right-handers an even balance of sinkers, changeups, and curveballs low and away and four-seamer fastballs up and in.

That’s changed in his first season with the sinker-heavy Brewers, as the southpaw has eschewed his four-seamer for more of those down-and-out sinkers.

On Friday night, 22 of Quintana’s 105 pitches were four-seamers, comparable to last year’s usage and by far the most he’s thrown the pitch in an outing this year. He used it to change eye levels at the top of the zone and establish the inside corner against a slew of right-handed Colorado Rockies hitters.

“These guys, they are way better away,” he explained. “I think the way I've been pitching this year is staying more down and away, so today we changed that a little bit to go hard in and soft away. I think it worked really good, and the second time through the lineup, we started [throwing] more away and we got more ground balls. It was really good.”

Quintana’s four-seamer generated five whiffs out of 14 swings (36%) and was responsible for two of his five strikeouts, but it also allowed his sinker to play up. Showing those inside four-seamers had Rockies hitters rolling over sinkers and changeups away, but it also left them giving up on some comeback sinkers and taking them for strikes. Quintana’s sinker only produced one whiff but yielded 14 called strikes.

Even if the results weren’t optimal, Quintana’s command was tighter, and he was getting the right responses from hitters. He also dusted off a pitch that was recently a cog in his arsenal and perhaps should be again moving forward.