Dial Q for a Cubs Shutout

On Tuesday night, Cubs SP José Quintana threw 7.0 IP in an eventual 4-0 shutout of the Miami Marlins to secure a series win, which was followed up with a 6-0 shutout for the sweep on Thursday, started by Cole Hamels. Following Quintana’s start on Wednesday, I realized that many of the recent Cubs shutouts of opponents I was able to recall were Quintana starts, so I decided to look into how many shutouts of opponents he had started since his debut. The results were interesting.

José Quintana Cubs Debut: July 16, 2017

Cubs Shutouts of Opponents Since July 16, 2017:

1. July 16, 2017 (BAL)

SP: José Quintana (7.0 IP; 3 H; 0 R; 0 BB; 0 SO)
WP: José Quintana

2. September 1, 2017 (ATL)

SP: John Lackey (7.0 IP; 3 H; 0 ER; 0 BB; 5 SO)

WP: John Lackey
S: Wade Davis

3. September 6, 2017 (PIT)

SP: José Quintana (6.0 IP; 6 H; 0 ER; 1 BB; 6 SO)

WP: Pedro Strop
S: Wade Davis

4. September 24, 2017 (MIL)

SP: Jos̩ Quintana (9.0 IP; 3 H; 0 ER; 1 BB; 10 SO РCGSO)

WP: José Quintana

5. September 30, 2017

SP: Jon Lester (5.0 IP; 4 H; 0 ER; 0 BB; 7 SO)

WP: Jon Lester

6. April 5, 2018 (MIL)

SP: Jon Lester (6.0 IP; 3 ; 0 ER; 1 BB; 6 SO)

7. April 8, 2018 (MIL)

SP: José Quintana (6.0 IP; 3 H; 0 ER; 2 BB; 6 SO)

WP: José Quintana
S: Brandon Morrow

8. April 26, 2018 (MIL)

SP: Kyle Hendricks (7.0 IP; 4 H; 0 ER; 0 BB; 5 SO)

WP: Kyle Hendricks
S: Brandon Morrow

9. April 28, 2018 (MIL)

SP: José Quintana (7.0 IP; 2 H; 0 ER; 1 BB; 7 SO)

WP: José Quintana

10. April 29, 2018 (MIL)

SP: Tyler Chatwood (7.0 IP; 2 H; 0 ER; 3 BB; 4 SO)

WP: Tyler Chatwood
S: Brandon Morrow

11. May 19, 2018 (CIN)

SP: José Quintana (7.0 IP; 1 H; 0 ER; 4 BB; 7 SO)

WP: José Quintana

12. May 28, 2018 (PIT)

SP: Mike Montgomery (5.2 IP; 2 H; 0 ER; 0 BB; 5 SO)

WP: Mike Montgomery

13. June 3, 2018 (NYM)

SP: Jon Lester (7.0 IP; 2 H; 0 ER; 3 BB; 7 SO)

WP: Jon Lester
S: Brian Duensing

14. June 9, 2018 (PIT)

SP: Jon Lester (7.0 IP; 1 H; 0 ER; 2 BB; 5 SO)

WP: Jon Lester
S: Steve Cishek

15. June 20, 2018 (LAD)

SP: Jon Lester (7.0 IP; 5 H; 0 ER; 3 BB; 1 SO)

WP: Jon Lester

16. July 10, 2018 (SF)

SP: José Quintana (6.0 IP; 3 H; 0 ER; 2 B; 3 SO)

WP: José Quintana
S: Steve Cishek

17. August 7, 2018 (KC)

SP: Mike Montgomery (6.0 IP; 5 H; 0 ER; 2 BB; 4 SO)

WP: Mike Montgomery

18. August 16, 2018 (PIT)

SP: Jon Lester (6.0 IP; 5 H; 0 ER; 0 BB; 8 SO)

WP: Jon Lester
S: Pedro Strop

19. August 17, 2018 (PIT)

SP: Cole Hamels (7.0 IP; 5 H; 0 ER; 2 BB; 3 SO)

WP: Cole Hamels
S: Jesse Chavez

The August 16 and 17, 2018 games were part of the now-infamous Pittsburgh series which the Cubs won 2-3 but only scored one run in each of the three games, which typified the Northsiders’ late season offensive efforts.

20. August 26, 2018 (CIN)

SP: Kyle Hendricks (7.0 IP; 2 H; 0 ER; 1 BB; 5 SO)

WP: Kyle Hendricks

21. September 11, 2018 (MIL)

SP: José Quintana (6.2 IP; 3 H; 0 ER; 2 BB; 7 SO)

WP: José Quintana
S: Pedro Strop

22. September 15, 2018 (CIN)

SP: Jon Lester (7.0 IP; 2 H; 0 ER; 2 BB; 9 SO)

WP: Jon Lester
S: Steve Cishek

23. September 27, 2018 (PIT)

SP: Jon Lester (6.0 IP; 3 H; 0 ER; 4 BB; 3 SO)

WP: Jon Lester
S: Jesse Chavez

24. April 8, 2019 (PIT)

SP: Jon Lester (2.0 IP; 3 H; 0 ER; 1 BB; 4 SO)

WP: Brad Brach

This was the 2019 Wrigley home opener. Lester exited the game after sustaining a hamstring injury while running the bases (1-1; 1 R; 1 RBI; 0 BB; 0 SO) and subsequently went on the 10-day Injured List.

25. April 11, 2019 (PIT)

SP: José Quintana (7.0 IP; 4 H; 0 ER; 1 BB; 11 SO)

WP: José Quintana
S: Pedro Strop

26.April 16, 2019 (MIA)

SP: José Quintana (7.0 IP; 6 H; 0 ER; 0 BB; 7 SO)

WP: José Quintana

27. April 17, 2019 (MIA)

SP: Cole Hamels (7.0 IP; 3 H; 0 ER; 0 BB; 8 SO)

WP: Cole Hamels

Totals: José Quintana 10/27; John Lackey 1/27; Jon Lester 9/27; Kyle Hendricks 2/27; Tyler Chatwood 1/27; Mike Montgomery 2/27; Cole Hamels 2/27

With 10 out of the 27 total shutouts recorded since his Cubs debut on July 16, 2017, José Quintana starts account for 37% of those shutouts, just ahead of Jon Lester’s 33-1/3%, and Quintana has recorded the only complete game shutout in all 27 of those games (September 24, 2017 vs. Milwaukee). Therefore, if Cubs coaches are looking for a shutout, José Quintana is their best bet to take the hill.

Featured Image: Keeton Gale / Shutterstock.com