Jose Quintana strong in Chicago White Sox win
The Chicago White Sox continued to use the momentum gained from this week on Wednesday by actually getting starting pitcher Jose Quintana some run support for what was a 4-1 win and a series sweep against the Houston Astros.
Quintana went seven innings, and in what was his third win of the season (3-6 overall), he finished with one earned run allowed on six hits and two walks. He struck out three batters on 104 pitches (72 for strikes).
The ERA of Quintana is now at 4.00 for the season in 12 starts. Quintana entered the game with a 4.28 ERA.
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What was great about this ball game by the White Sox was not just the fact they finally gave the left-hander some run support, but the team showed they can still hit the long ball with three home runs against the Astros.
Those home runs by the “Good Guys” came with a sixth-inning solo home run by Adam LaRoche to tie the score at 1-1 with one out. From there, the White Sox took the lead with Geovany Soto‘s seventh-inning solo shot, and in the eighth, Abreu hit a two-run home run (with Carlos Sanchez on the bases), his 11th of the season.
Jun 10, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox catcher Geovany Soto (58) celebrates with third baseman Conor Gillaspie (12) his solo home run against the Houston Astros during the seventh inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Abreu finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while LaRoche was also 2-for-4. Also with two hits against the Astros Wednesday was J.B. Shuck, who was 2-for-3 with one walk.
After the White Sox homers, David Robertson slammed the door shut for the third consecutive night, earning his 13th save of the season.
For Quintana, it is good to see him finally get his ERA back to 4.00 after a tough start to the season. In his past three starts against the Astros in two games and the Detroit Tigers, Quintana has allowed five earned runs (three against the Tigers on June 5) in 20.1 innings pitched.
The White Sox out-hit the Astros 9-7, though five of the hits by Houston came off the bat of George Springer, who was 5-for-5. Houston’s lone run was scored in the top of the second off a sacrifice fly by Jake Marisnick to score Chris Carter.
With the win, the White Sox move to 28-30 overall, while the Astros are 34-27 on the season. This is the first three-game series sweep by the White Sox since sweeping the Oakland Athletics in May.
Even with three errors, the White Sox showed on Wednesday they can overcome their flaws and still find a way to win against a quality opponent. Now just three games under the .500 mark, the White Sox took advantage of losses by the Tigers, Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians to make the standings a little closer.
The White Sox are 6.5 games back of the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central, but they trail the second-place Twins by 4.5 games, and the third-place Tigers by two games in the standings.
Chicago has an off day on Thursday before having three games at the Tampa Bay Rays and then a two-game set at PNC Park, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Next: Carlos Rodon: The No. 2 starter?