Chicago Cubs Jose Quintana sharp in win over Pirates

The Chicago Cubs lefty pitched seven shutout innings of baseball as they took two out of three from the Pirates for their first series win of the season.

The Chicago Cubs needed a strong start from one of their rotation to help ease the stress on the bullpen while Jon Lester is on the IR. Jose Quintana took care of that on a cold and rainy night. In seven scoreless innings, he struck out 11 hitters while allowing just four hits. Part of the reason was his ability to throw more changeups effectively, something that he had worked on this spring.

That ability to throw the change, especially in fastball counts, was the difference maker for Quintana. Home plate umpire Mike Estabrook gave some…