Jose Quintana proved his ace credentials by dominating against Team USA's All-Star lineup
Perhaps it goes all the way to when he was a child, when his decision to even play baseball came by mere happenstance:
A few interesting Quintana facts: Decided to play baseball as a youngster in Colombia because all the soccer teams were full.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) March 11, 2017
Consider him a hidden ace no more. Currently set to lead the White Sox rotation despite Chicago GM Rick Hahn dangling the starter in trade talks, Quintana made his case for ace status on Friday night. Toeing the rubber for Colombia, Quintana faced off against an All-Star lineup in Team USA.
That's not hyperbole either. While Quintana has one All-Star Game to his name, the starting lineup for Team USA combined for 30 All-Star Game appearances. And yet, they were powerless against the left-hander, going hitless until the sixth inning. Of course, were it not for the Z-post route that
Between a second-inning walk from
He did it by heavily relying on his low-90s fastball -- not that surprising given that we're still in March -- with a rare changeup, cutter or curve mixed in to keep batters off kilter.
Unfortunately for Quintana, that one single would come back to haunt team Colombia. Lifted after Crawford's single, Team USA scored two runs in the inning to tie the game at two before Adam Jones gave Team USA the victory with a walk-off single in the 10th.
Of course, Quintana's counterpart,