Jose Quintana comes up huge again as Mets beat Phillies, advance to NLCS

NEW YORK — Once again, Jose Quintana did his job.

The veteran left-hander fired five-plus crucial innings in the Mets‘ 4-1 win over the Phillies in NLDS Game 4 on Wednesday night at Citi Field.

And while he collected a no-decision, Quintana was among the biggest reasons that the odds-defying Mets advanced past their NL East rival and booked their first trip to the NLCS since 2015.

Quintana limited the loaded Phillies lineup to one unearned run on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts, keeping the Mets within striking distance as their offense repeatedly squandered scoring opportunities against Philadelphia starter Ranger Suarez.

The only damage against Quintana came in the fourth inning, when third baseman Mark Vientos bobbled a slow grounder off the bat of Alec Bohm, allowing Bryce Harper to score from third on what was ruled an error on a fielder’s choice.

The Mets trailed 1-0 when Quintana exited to a standing ovation in the top of the sixth after surrendering a leadoff double to Bryce Harper, whom the bullpen then stranded. In the bottom of that inning, the Mets took the lead in emphatic fashion, with Francisco Lindor slugging a go-ahead grand slam against Phillies closer Carlos Estevez.

Wednesday played out similarly to last week’s winner-take-all Game 3 in the Mets’ wild-card series against the Brewers. Quintana hurled six scoreless innings that night but departed with the game still scoreless en route to a no-decision. Three innings later, Pete Alonso clubbed a go-ahead three-run home run off of Milwaukee closer Devin Williams to fuel the Mets’ instant-classic 4-2 victory.

Quintana, a 13-year MLB veteran, was the Mets’ opening day starter this season, filling a vacancy left by ace Kodai Senga, who was diagnosed during spring training with a shoulder strain that kept him out for the season’s first four months.

The 35-year-old Quintana went 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA in 170 1/3 innings over 31 starts, but he stepped up down the stretch as the Mets scratched, clawed and eventually clinched the third and final NL wild-card spot. His 0.74 ERA over his final six starts was the lowest mark by any MLB starter between Aug. 25 and the end of the regular reason.

It made sense, then, that the Mets trusted Quintana to start Wednesday’s game with a trip to the NLCS on the line.

“I think at this point, every game is Game 7 for me and for all of my teammates,” Quintana said a little over 24 hours before the Game 4 start. “We’ve been fighting a lot in all situations. Like I say, every play, every game means a lot.”