CHICAGO (AP) Avisail Garcia and Leury Garcia homered to back run-starved starter Jose Quintana and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.
Chicago won its fourth straight, while Kansas City dropped every game on a seven-game trip.
Quintana (1-4) got the offensive support he needed after receiving only four runs in his first four starts combined. The left-hander had a season-high 10 strikeouts in six innings. He allowed five hits and two runs – one earned – and walked two.
Avisail Garcia‘s two-run homer, his fourth of the season, went to deep center field in the sixth inning to give Chicago a 4-2 lead. Leury Garcia put a line drive over the fence in right to close the scoring in the seventh.
Chicago’s Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier had consecutive two-out RBI doubles to open the scoring the first inning.
Abreu left the game with an injury after flubbing a slow ground ball in the fifth inning. The first baseman was moving to his right for Cheslor Cuthbert‘s ground ball, but dropped it and had to leave the game with a mild right hip flexor strain.
Abreu had two doubles early for his fourth straight multi-hit game. He will be re-evaluated in Detroit ahead of Friday’s game.
The error resulted in an unearned run on Quintana, with Jorge Bonifacio scoring Alcides Escobar on an RBI single to make it 2-1.
The Royals tied it at 2 in the sixth on Escobar’s groundout after Alex Gordon advanced to third on two wild pitches.
White Sox relievers Dan Jennings, Tommy Kahnle, Nate Jones and David Robertson combined for three scoreless innings, with Robertson converting his fifth save in five tries.
Right-hander Nathan Karns (0-2) took the loss, allowing four runs in six innings.
The teams will meet again for a four-game series starting Monday in Kansas City.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: No Royals have gone on the DL since opening day. OF Jorge Soler (strained left oblique) is on a rehab assignment in Triple-A Omaha. He was injured in spring training.
White Sox: RHP Juan Minaya was activated from his rehab assignment and optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. He was suffering from a strained right abdominal muscle.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy (0-2, 2.08 ERA) will open a three-game home series on Friday against Minnesota and RHP Kyle Gibson (0-3, 9.00).
White Sox: RHP Mike Pelfrey (0-1, 4.15) will face the team that cut him in spring training on Friday, as the White Sox open a three-game weekend series in Detroit. LHP Matthew Boyd (2-1, 3.86) pitches for the Tigers.
Photo credit – Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press / Chicago, IL
