Quintana thanks Chicago White Sox

Jose Quintana did some looking back and looking ahead during the two days the Chicago Cubs played at his former ballpark on the South Side.

The ex-White Sox lefty said he "almost cried" during a video tribute the Chicago White Sox put on for him Wednesday night. It was Quintana's first game back at Guaranteed Rate Field since the White Sox traded him to the Cubs for prospects on July 13.

"It was amazing, exciting," he said Thursday. "It was a surprise for me, and I appreciate it. For the White Sox to give that to me was a good time for me. I just want to say thank you, fans, and I appreciate everything they did for me."

Quintana, who is 2-0 with the Cubs, will start Friday night's series opener of a crucial three-game series at Miller Park in Milwaukee. The Brewers led the Cubs by 5½ games at the all-star break, but they've slumped and the Cubs have come on to take over first place in the National League Central.

"It's really exciting for me to be there for tomorrow for first place," he said. "We know we have two more months ahead, so keep working hard. It's a different way now. Now I'm focused on trying to help my team here and try to do my job. It's an exciting opportunity for me to be in first."

Manager Joe Maddon said Quintana's presence has infused the Cubs with energy and confidence.

"I think it figures in more than people may even realize," he said. "The game in Baltimore (Quintana's Cubs debut) was a really big game for us, just getting the new guy on the block. He comes out. He pitches great. He also set a standard in the way he did it. I thought (he was) strike-throwing, aggressive, grabbed a lead, held on to it.

"Calm demeanor. Anything he did out there that day was what you want everyone else to watch. That has a lot to do, I think, with how our starting pitching has settled down a bit. Beyond that, just the thought among the group that Theo (team president Epstein) and Jed (GM Hoyer) went out there and got somebody like that right now, the mental factor, that played into it, too.

"Now Jose's getting comfortable here. Just watching him every day, you can see he's becoming more part of the group."

Wanting more:

Both after Wednesday night's 8-3 victory over the White Sox and again Thursday, Joe Maddon pointed out that Cubs hitter saw 221 pitches in Wednesday's game.

On one hand, he said that was a good thing. On the other, he said he was surprised the Cubs scored "only" 8 runs. But he did say he is heartened that more hitters are starting to hit.

"I believe you're going to see more of that clutch-hitting moment coming from a wider group as we move it forward," he said. "We saw 220-some pitches yesterday. I hate to moan, but we scored only 8 runs. That's almost two games worth of pitches."