Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana has had a rough start to the season, and that continued on Friday night as he was the loser in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians.
Kluber ended up throwing a complete game shutout for the Indians, striking out nine batters while surrendering just two walks and three total hits in the winning effort.
Meanwhile Quintana struggled a bit, giving up three earned runs in six innings of work. The White Sox hurler, whose record dropped to 0-4 on the season, surrendered a two-run home run to Brandon Buyer in the fourth inning, and that was all Kluber and the Indians needed as they triumphed.
Both pitchers cruised through the first two innings, with only a Michael Brantley single smudging Quintana's stat line, but the Indians struck in the third. Former White Sox outfielder Austin Jackson led off the top of the third with a double, and after advancing on a sacrifice bunt he scored on a Quintana wild pitch to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.
That score held until the top of the fourth inning when Cleveland struck again. With two outs and Jason Kipnis on first base, Guyer stepped up to the plate and smacked a two-run home run over the left field wall to put the Indians in front by three runs.
After that home run, Kluber settled into cruise control. He only allowed two runners to reach scoring position in the game, incluidng Melky Cabrera in the seventh inning, but no White Sox baserunner moved past second base, and Kluber ended up inducing pop-outs by Tim Anderson and Cabrera to end the game and send the Indians home with a victory.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, with Mike Pelfrey, pitching in place of James Shields, will take on Carlos Carrasco. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m.