Game 3 NLDS starters: Cubs' Quintana vs. Nats' Scherzer

Here is the postseason scouting report on Jose Quintana:

Wait, there isn't one.

In five full years with the Chicago White Sox, Quintana never made it to the playoffs. The starting pitcher's fortunes instantly changed on July 13, when he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for monster prospect Eloy Jimenez and three other minor leaguers.

"When he came over, that's the first thing he talked to me about, getting to the playoffs," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Sunday. "Getting there and pitching, obviously."

After making 183 career starts - the last 14 with the Cubs - Quintana takes the mound for the first time in the postseason Monday at Wrigley Field in Game 3 of the National League division series against Washington.

"It's a huge game for me," Quintana said. "I think it's a huge opportunity, too. And for the first time, I'm really excited to get this opportunity, and I appreciate that."

Quintana's first playoff appearance comes in a huge game for the Cubs, who are tied at 1 with the Nationals in the NLDS after failing to hold a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning Saturday and losing 6-3.

With no track record in October, the Cubs can only hope for the best from the 28-year-old lefty.

"My only concern is that he's over-amped a little bit too much, too soon," Maddon said. "But he's wanted to be this guy. If he can get out there and get into that original rhythm, spotting it up, that kind of rhythm, he has a really good chance to pitch well as you saw him."

Maddon was referencing Quintana's Sept. 24 start at Milwaukee, when he pitched a complete-game shutout in a pressurized atmosphere.

"God, he had a great look," Maddon said. "We're all into reading people's faces and their vibe and their energy and all that stuff. And he had it. He has it."

Quintana is going to need it, because he's going up against Nationals starter Max Scherzer, the NL's defending Cy Young Award winner.

A "tweaked" right hamstring pushed Scherzer back to Game 3, but the right-hander insists he'll be ready for Game 3.

"I'm feeling a lot better," said Scherzer, who lasted just 3⅓ innings in his last start, against the Pirates on Sept. 30. "I feel strong. We've done everything we can to get this thing right. If I stay within my mechanics and throw the ball right, I fully intend to throw 100 pitches tomorrow."

Since he spent so much of his career with the White Sox in the American League, Quintana has never faced the Nationals.

"I think the approach never changes," Quintana said. "I checked a lot of videos. My approach is to attack and try to get quick outs."