Chicago Cubs have received a great deal of quality from Jose Quintana

Thus far in 2019, the Chicago Cubs have received quality work from left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana, which has allowed more fans to embrace the hurler.

On Thursday night at the Great American Ballpark, the Chicago Cubs saw their run of series victories draw to a close. Chicago dropped the rubber match series finale against the Cincinnati Reds by a 4-2 final, giving them their first series loss since early April.

The Cubs squandered an early lead – as a pair of wild pitches from lefty Jose Quintana proved fateful on a rainy evening at the ballpark. A mid-game rain delay ended his night early, sending him to the showers after just five innings of three-run ball.

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"“It’s tough. It’s frustrating that (a wild pitch) happened twice,” Quintana told MLB.com. “One inning and that changed my game.”"

I don’t know if we’ll ever evaluate Quintana’s work through any type of unbiased lens given how he came to the North Side. Cubs fans surely remember the package centered around top prospects Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease, the former of whom is in the outfield on the South Side. All things considered, though, the southpaw has been a reliable piece of the Cubs’ rotation in 2019.

Quintana has allowed just 50 hits in 51 1/3 innings this year – spanning eight starts and a season-opening relief appearance in Texas. He’s pitched to a 119 ERA+ and 1.266 WHIP so far this year, with a well above-average 3.68 earned run average (and 3.81 FIP). It seems like the Cubs have a chance to win every time he takes the ball, which is all you need with an offense as potent as this.

Chicago is tied with the second-highest OPS in the National League and is averaging 5.27 runs per game – which has played a large part in the team’s 25-16 start and +53 run differential. As far as run support goes, it’s been a mixed bag for Quintana. In his eight starts, the Cubs have scored 5.38 runs – giving him more than enough run support to get wins.

Since April 5, when the Milwaukee Brewers shelled Quintana for eight runs in just three innings at Miller Park, the Cubs are 5-2 when he takes the ball. Chicago has lost each of his last two outings, though, including Thursday’s loss to the Reds. The offense has mustered just two runs in those contests, while Quintana has allowed three runs or fewer in each of those starts.

I’m sure some people look at Thursday night’s loss and place the blame squarely on Quintana’s shoulders for those two wild pitches that really put the ball in the Reds’ court. But when you score twice in the first, then go scoreless over the next eight innings, you aren’t giving yourselves much of a chance of coming away with a win.

The Cubs went just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position and Javier Baez was the only Chicago player with multiple hits in the loss. The simple truth is this. Going into or past the fifth and allowing three or fewer runs is all we can ask for from pretty much every guy in this rotation – including Jose Quintana.

If he continues to turn in quality outings every five days, there is a waterfall effect. He can spell the bullpen here and there, the Cubs can continue to have patience with the inconsistent Yu Darvish and the offense knows they’ll have a chance to get a win when he has the ball. At this point, thinking you’ll ever get anything but quality from Quintana is foolhardy. This is who he is – so you better get used to it.