Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy provided some clarity on Jose Quintana’s early exit in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, saying the starter suffered a calf injury.
Per Murphy, Quintana sustained the injury while covering first base. He was pulled after just four innings and 67 pitches, taking the loss to fall to 11-7 on the season after allowing three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
Murphy said that Quintana left for the day in a walking boot and would be getting an MRI, so the severity of the injury is not yet known.
The 36-year-old southpaw has a 3.96 ERA over 131 2/3 innings — on the verge of his fourth straight season with a sub-4.00 ERA — with 89 strikeouts to 50 walks.
The Brewers’ bullpen combined for five shutout innings in relief of Quintana Sunday, but the pitching staff of the team with the best record in baseball (91-59) has already been quite taxed with injuries.
Right-hander Shelby Miller (elbow) is done for the year while right-hander Logan Henderson (flexor) is done for at least the regular season. There’s hope that relievers Trevor Megill (flexor), Nick Mears (back) and DL Hall (oblique) will return from the IL in the next few weeks as the postseason nears.