White Sox 11, Blue Jays 4: Jose Quintana gets a cushion

Jose Quintana became the first White Sox starter to pitch into the seventh since Miguel Gonzalez went 7²⁄₃ innings on May 28. It’s a little difficult to tell how well he pitched, because the White Sox offense gave him a huge early cushion that warped all perspective of the game.

The White Sox jumped on Joe Biagini for four runs in the first and three in the second, allowing Quintana to pitch to the score in earnest. Quintana accomplished Job One by taking it to the Blue Jays until they forced him to nibble, and the Toronto lineup never made him reconsider.

They hit some balls hard, including a pair of solo homers, but the White Sox played airtight defense behind him on the stuff that stayed in the park. Melky Cabrera gunned down a runner at the plate, Yolmer Sanchez made a leaping catch, and the Sox turned three double plays, including a 1-3 one started by Quintana in self defense to end the seventh.

(They also added a 3-6-1 beauty with Jake Petricka on the mound, although it could’ve been overturned had John Gibbons chosen to challenge.)

Biagini, on the other hand, had an evening to forget. He couldn’t even record one out in the second, even though Gibbons gave him the first four batters. He ran into immediate trouble when Alen Hanson reached on an infield single, Cabrera walked and Jose Abreu tripled both home when Jose Bautista drifted way too close to the wall on a drive over his head. A Todd Frazier sac fly scored Abreu, giving Biagini clear bases with two outs.

And even then, he allowed another run. Matt Davidson kept the inning alive with a double, then came around to score when Biagini made an off-balance throw on Anderson’s tapper toward the third-base side of the mound.

A second reset wasn’t any more fruitful. The White Sox opened the second with two singles and two doubles for a quick three runs, and Quintana could cruise from there. If there were any doubt after Kendrys Morales homered off Quintana in the bottom of the second, Hanson put it to rest by shooting a single through a drawn-in infield to answer it.

Cabrera then took it into double digits by taking Jeff Beliveau out to left on a line shot for a three-run homer, his seventh of the year.

That capped off an incredible game for the top-third of the order, which was altered late when Leury Garcia’s nagging hand injury prevented him from going to the post. Hanson performed admirably as the impromptu leadoff man to set the table:

• Hanson: 3-for-4, 1 BB, 1 SB, 3 R, 1 RBI
• Cabrera: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, BB, 3 R, 5 RBI
• Abreu: 2-for-5, 3B, 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI

Narvaez also contributed three hits at the bottom of the order, including a double, which is just his third extra-base hit of the year.

Record: 30-36 | Box score | Highlights