José Quintana delivered perhaps his best performance of the season on Saturday in the Mets’ 5-1 win over the Padres, pitching six innings of two-hit ball, allowing just one earned run and striking out six in his first win since April 11.
Coincidentally, that was the last time Francisco Álvarez was behind the plate in one of Quintana’s games, and the veteran lefty made a point of giving the 23-year-old plenty of credit for the game he called.
“Alvy did an incredible job behind the plate,” Quintana said. “I don’t need to check him as much, so I’m more focused on execution. When you get into some difficulties, you focus on the little things…that was my key today, just take it one step at a time and keep executing.
Alvarez has been sidelined with a thumb injury since April 19 and finally returned earlier this week.
He hasn’t yet established himself offensively — just two hits in 14 games — but it’s clear his impact is being felt by pitchers like Quintana.
“When I see him, he has that instinct behind the plate,” Quintana said. “As pitchers, we have the opportunity to read shots and think about what’s next. Because he’s close to the hitter, he has great ideas about what to throw next. Always on top of the game. You don’t see that often in the game. It is very special.”
For Quintana, Saturday’s start could be a turning point for him after failing to make it past the fourth inning in his last two starts.
“I needed this ride,” Quintana said. “When I finished that double play, I felt great. All my arguments were good. As long as we got the ground ball, I said we got it. When you do things like that, baseball is fun.”
