Quintana’s good; Kluber’s great
Sox lefty still winless as team gets shut out by Cleveland’s ace
Some pitchers cause intestinal distress among fans whenever they take the mound.
They make you fret. If it’s warm enough, they make you sweat.
Not White Sox left- hander Jose Quintana. He has set himself apart by being so consistent, it’s almost boring.
“He’s a guy you don’t worry about,” catcher OmarNarvaez said. “He can hit the corners and pound the zone.”
But he cannot do anything to fix a meager Sox offense. And so far this season, he cannot win a game.
On Friday, Quintana’s 0- for- 2017 streak continued in a 3- 0 loss to the Indians. The Sox ( 7- 8) scattered three hits and had only one runner reach second base as they were shut out for the second time.
Quintana ( 0- 4) was good but not great as he allowed three runs in six innings. He gave up five hits, walked three and struck out six on a chilly night with temperatures falling into the 40s.
Indians ace Corey Kluber ( 2- 1) stymied the Sox for his fourth career shutout. He had a season- high nine strikeouts.
Manager Rick Renteria said Quintana overcame shaky command at times to battle through six innings.
“He gave us an opportunity, but when you face Kluber, we’ve got to do a little bit more,” Renteria said.
A lack of run support is nothing new for Quintana. He is friendly and well- liked in the clubhouse, yet one might not know it based on the way his hitters abandon him start after start.
Consider this: In Quintana’s four outings, the Sox have scored four runs. Three of those runs were in his season debut. The Sox have scored one run in his three starts since then.
Zoom out on Quintana’s career, and you’ll find enough zeros and ones to make a computer scientist blush. The Sox have scored one run or no runs 38 times in his 155 career starts— 24.5 percent of his outings — since 2012.
“Well, like I say every time, that’s not my job,” Quintana said in a quiet locker room after the game. “So you just try to do the best [ you] can on the mound. . . .
“We have a long season. I’m not frustrated right now. I threw the ball well, I felt good today and I’ll just keep going. Sometimes this happens, and I never look back.”
Trouble found Quintana in the third inning. He surrendered a leadoff double to former teammate Austin Jackson, who scored on a wild pitch that squirted between Narvaez’s legs.
Quintana dug a deeper hole an inning later when he gave up a twoout, two- run home run to Brandon Guyer. The blast over the left- field wall followed a walk to Jason Kipnis, aNorthbrook nativemaking his season debut after spending three weeks on the disabled list.
Renteria said he wasn’t worried about Quintana’s winless start.
“He’s the same guy that I saw last year,” Renteria said. “He’s very composed, very poised, even in his outings that have contained one bad inning. He still grinded out and ended up giving us [ five or] six- plus innings. . . .
“He’s a professional. He knows what he’s doing. He’s navigating through situations, regardless of how difficult it’s been in the beginning. He continues to pitch.”
As long as he keeps pitching, Quintana expects the wins to arrive.
“Absolutely, man,” Quintana said. “It’s the first month, and I want to be in a better position, but this happens. Head up and go, and be ready for the next start and get some wins. That’s all.”