Jose Quintana. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Team Colombia may need a new opening game starting pitcher. During the New York Mets thumping of the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday afternoon, veteran pitcher José Quintana left the game after pitching only one inning. General manager Billy Eppler provided an update later in the game, saying he left the game due to left-side tightness. Quintana is scheduled for tests tomorrow.
After struggling mightily in his first appearance with the Mets in spring (0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 30 pitches), he rebounded nicely on Sunday. He relieved Kodai Senga and pitched a fast third inning. He only needed 13 pitches and struck out one batter while not allowing a hit. It was a very encouraging effort from the 34-year-old who expressed concerns regarding the pitch clock after his first tumultuous outing.
After the game, manager Buck Showalter said its too early to know the severity of the injury. But, he was glad he told the staff so they can take him out of the game out of abundance of caution.
As mentioned, Quintana will undergo testing tomorrow. From the naked eye, nothing looked to hinder Quintana in his hitless third inning, though, only time will tell what exactly the injury is. As has been mentioned, Quintana was in line to be the opening starter for Team Columbia in the World Baseball Classic. That is now certainly in question.
