MILWAUKEE — Jose Quintana wanted this.
Last month he acknowledged that Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and David Peterson had created a solid top three in the Mets rotation.
“Definitely, I want to be in the [postseason] rotation,” Quintana said on Sept. 7, “and I know I need to win that spot.”
He has won it, and the Mets season rests in the 35-year-old’s left hand.
Quintana will get the ball for the do-or-die Game 3 after the Brewers surged ahead in the eighth inning Wednesday for a 5-3 win that knotted the wild-card series at American Family Field.
Thursday it will be the 13th-year big leaguer against rookie right-hander Tobias Myers in a battle of soft-tossers from different ends of the age spectrum.
The Mets pitching drainage has helped — Manaea, Severino and Peterson are not available — but Quintana has put himself in this position.
In a season-ending sprint, the veteran allowed just three earned runs in his final 36 ¹/₃ innings (0.74 ERA), elevating his status from an October bullpen option to now owning the most critical start of the Mets season.
The bad news for Quintana and the Mets is that two of those runs in the stretch were given up in his most recent outing, when Quintana lasted 4 ¹/₃ innings against the Brewers on Saturday.
He pitched just OK and struck out nine.
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Quintana has historically pitched well against the Brewers and has pitched decently in the postseason, in which he owns a 3.86 ERA in five games.
“I’m really excited,” said Quintana, who has not pitched in October since 2022 with the Cardinals. “I think it’s a privilege to get this opportunity to pitch in the postseason one more time.”
Quintana has watched Severino and Manaea pitch solidly, if not spectacularly, in Games 1 and 2.
“Everything,” Manaea said about his confidence in his rotation-mate. “Q’s unbelievable. He’s a veteran, pitches well, pitches with confidence.
“I think if anybody can do it, it’s him.”
It will have to be, or the Mets season would be over.
“Keep doing the same,” Quintana, who will be a free agent at the season’s end, said of his mindset. “Never change my approach. Keep throwing the ball the same way I’ve been doing. … This is a really important game for us.”
