Jose Quintana’s 1st inning costs White Sox in loss to Royals

Jun 13, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jose Quintana (62) pitches against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The first inning pitched by Jose Quintana where he allowed five straight hits and five earned runs put the Chicago White Sox in a hole they couldn’t dig themselves out of, losing by a 7-2 score to the Kansas City Royals.

The Friday night loss to the Royals, in the first of three games of this series, not only saw the White Sox struggle with their pitching in the first inning, but in the second, they were able to load the bases with no outs, only to be held to a single run in the inning when Adam Eaton walked to score Alexei Ramirez from third base.

What went wrong in the first inning for Quintana and the White Sox?

They scored their only two runs in the first two innings, but in that same span, not only did the Royals have the destructive five-run first inning, but they added one run in the second and one more in the seventh, totaling 12 hits in the win over the White Sox.

Now back to Quintana.

For a player who just received a very good contract, he sure isn’t pitching like he is the No. 2 or No. 3 pitcher on the team lately.

In six innings Friday, Quintana allowed six earned runs on eight hits and one walk. He did strike out six, but his ERA now sits at 3.98 on the season.  He threw 110 pitches, 69 for strikes.

That’s not what the White Sox need at this point of the season from a player like Quintana. On the year, he is 3-7 in 83.2 innings pitched.

That is the problem with the White Sox starters … besides Chris Sale, who is else is dependable to get you six or seven solid innings in 90 percent (a guess) of their starts?

None of the pitchers, starters or relievers, (excluding Sale) are that dependable, because in total on Friday at US Cellular Field, the Royals collected 12 hits.

As for Quintana’s performance, no team can have pitching like they did in the first inning and expect to win a ball game. Bottom line.

How did the starting pitching get so mediocre for this franchise the past few seasons? For a franchise that prides itself on their pitching program, it sure hasn’t had the best of results lately, right?

Am I just overreacting, but besides Sale, what other pitcher do you really trust when they take the mound? I don’t trust any of them right now, if we are being honest here.

Hopefully I am just overacting a bit … that has to be it. Tell me that is it, because we still have 94 games still on the schedule.

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Looking at the White Sox batting, their 2-4 hitters in the lineup went a combined 1-for-12 with one walk, with the hit by Jose Abreu, as it went for an RBI.

One player for the “Good Guys,” Adam Eaton had a very nice game, reaching base five times by going 2-for-2 with three walks and one RBI.

The White Sox totaled seven hits and stranded 11. Not what you call a good night any way you look at it.

For the Royals, Jeremy Guthrie went 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits and four walks. He finished with nine strikeouts, lowering his season ERA to 4.04. Guthrie threw 110 pitches, 65 for strikes.

White Sox batters struck out 12 times.

On Saturday, the White Sox and Royals will play at 1:10 p.m. CT.