No one can ever get too worried about a slow start in such a long season, but in one of the toughest divisions in baseball, it’s important to not dig too deep a hole out of the gates. After a 1-6 start to the season, someone inside the Chicago Cubs clubhouse needed to step up to help turn things around.
That guy? Jose Quintana. After his team dropped the first three series of the season to Texas, Atlanta and Milwaukee, the southpaw put on a show (seven shutout innings, 11 strikeouts) in a rubber match against the Pittsburgh Pirates to get the Cubs their first series win.