In the pantheon of "Brewers killers," Jose Quintana's name surfaces often.

The left-hander has had plenty of experience against the Milwaukee Brewers in his career all over the National League Central — he's pitched for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates.

He'll get the ball for the New York Mets in a true winner-take-all game Thursday, the Brewers' first such postseason game since the 2019 wild-card game in Washington.

Quintana's 2.98 career ERA against the Brewers in 23 games (22 starts) is pretty strong, though not his best mark against any team. He also hasn't had a victory against the Brewers since 2019, going 0-3. That includes an 0-2 mark this season, with the Brewers getting to Quintana for two wins over the Mets in the regular-season series at the beginning and end of the year.

Quintana had a 3.77 ERA, allowing six earned runs in just more than 14 innings, in three games against Milwaukee last year. He had a relief inning against Milwaukee in 2021 and had a gaudy 5.81 ERA against the Brewers in 2019, when he game up seven homers and 20 runs in 31 innings.

Before that, yes, Quintana was elite against Milwaukee. The 35-year-old has been solid this season for the Mets, with a 3.75 ERA in 170 innings, his highest workload since 2019.

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When the Mets signed Quintana to a two-year deal in late 2022, he was joining a very different rotation than the one that came to American Family Field for the playoffs. The Mets had Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Carlos Carrasco, and they were on the cusp of signing Kodai Senga, who had a tremendous rookie season but has been sidelined by injury most of this year.

Verlander and Scherzer were traded during a disappointing 2023 season, while Carrasco was placed on waivers and ultimately parted ways with the Mets after the season. With Senga out, Quintana wound up with the start on opening day this season against the Brewers. The game became known for a dust-up between the teams and, at least in retrospect, the big-league debut for Jackson Chourio, whose fifth-inning single against Quintana was his first big-league hit.

The Brewers won that game, 3-1. In what Milwaukee hopes is a blueprint for Thursday, the Brewers got the best of Quintana and the Mets on the final Saturday of the season, 6-0. In that game, Jared Koenig served as the "opener," Thursday starter Tobias Myers worked four clean innings, and Milwaukee's A-list bullpen took it from there. Quintana was on the hook for two earned runs in 4⅓ innings.

Quintana has never faced the Brewers in the playoffs but did have a staggering seven starts against Milwaukee in the 2018 season when Milwaukee reached the seventh game of the National League Championship Series, and the Cubs went 5-2 in those games.

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Jose Quintana stats vs Brewers

Overall against Milwaukee, Quintana is 9-7 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.077 WHIP. At American Family Field, he's 5-4 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.179 WHIP.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mets' Jose Quintana vs Brewers: Pitcher's stats before Game 3 tonight