Jose Quintana wasn’t even sure he was going to be with Milwaukee before the trade deadline expired last week. Now he’ll be on the mound Wednesday night when the Brewers try to sweep a three-game series and complete an undefeated road trip.
The left-hander (8-4, 3.50 ERA) will start the final game of Milwaukee’s three-game series at Atlanta. The Brewers triumphed 7-2 on Tuesday and have won the first five games of their six-game trip.
The team leads the season series 3-2 and will try to sweep a three-game series in Atlanta for the second straight season. Milwaukee is a league-best 33-24 away from home and has won six straight games on the road and 11 of the last 12 there.
Quintana frequently was mentioned as potential trade bait for the Brewers and said he was happy when the deadline passed and he was still in Milwaukee.
“The last day of the deadline was really hard,” he said. “The last two hours you don’t know what’s going to happen, but I wanted to stay. I’m glad to stay here. I want to finish the season here and win.”
Quintana will make his 17th start of the season and his first against the Braves. In his most recent appearance, against Washington on Friday, he pitched five innings and allowed two runs on six hits, two walks and four strikeouts in a 16-9 win.
In 10 career starts against the Braves, Quintana is 3-6 with a 6.62 ERA. He was 1-1 with a 6.10 ERA against them last season and is 1-2 with a 6.89 ERA in three career starts at Truist Park.
Atlanta right-hander Spencer Strider (5-8, 3.71 ERA) will make his 15th start and has won two of his last three outings. He beat Kansas City on July 28 after allowing two runs on seven hits, two walks and three strikeouts over five innings in a 10-7 win. He was scheduled to start on Sunday in the Speedway Classic at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway but was scratched after the game was postponed by more than two hours because of rain.
Strider will make his first career start against the Brewers. He has faced them three times in relief stints and combined for seven scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts.
Milwaukee’s Andrew Vaughn picked up a two-run single on Tuesday and extended his hitting streak to 11 games, tied for the longest of his career. Vaughn is batting .429 (18-for-42) with four homers and 14 RBIs during the streak.
Atlanta’s Eli White set a career high with his seventh homer on Tuesday. He has three home runs over the last three games. White got a chance to play a lot early in the season before Ronald Acuna Jr. returned from the injured list. He’s batting .254 with 26 RBIs.
“Eli’s made the most of his opportunities all year,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s done a really nice job.”
The Braves placed third baseman Austin Riley on the 10-day injured list with a lower abdominal strain, the same problem that sidelined him from July 12-25. Atlanta recalled Nacho Alvarez Jr. from Triple-A Gwinnett to replace Riley and inserted him in the starting lineup. Alvarez went 1-for-3.
-Field Level Media
