Whtie Sox woes against Blue Jays continue
Remember when the White Sox were perched high on that wave and riding from one victory to another?
They've officially slipped off the board.
Actually, the Sox have been pushed off by a familiar nemesis — the Toronto Blue Jays.
Yes, the Jays always seem to fade down the stretch and finish well off the pace in the rugged AL East.
But the White Sox usually catch them earlier in the season, when they are playing good baseball.
That's been the case again this time around, and Toronto followed up Tuesday's 9-5 win with a 4-0 decision over the Sox on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
The Blue Jays have now won six straight series against the White Sox and are 24-8 against the South Siders dating back to 2008.
In their latest win, the Jays rode the strong pitching of underrated starter Brandon Morrow, who delivered his third complete-game shutout in his last seven outings.
While throwing 119 pitches, Morrow allowed just 2 hits. Both were singles from A.J. Pierzynski.
“I think everything,” Sox manager Robin Ventura said when asked what the right-hander was doing right. “He was spotting his fastball, good split, slider. It was just one of those days. You run into a guy that just puts it to you, just overmatches you. He had everything going tonight.”
The White Sox were missing Paul Konerko (wrist) for the second straight game, but even the American League's leading hitter might not have made much of a difference against Morrow.
Backup catcher Tyler Flowers started at first base in place of Konerko and was 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
“He seemed to be locating everything,” Flowers said of Morrow. “I didn't see the pitches that A.J. got hits on, but maybe those were a couple of mistakes. I got one pitch to hit all day and missed it. I just tried to battle after that and it seems like everyone was in the same situation.
“He was aggressive, getting ahead, and his slider and split at least what I saw were pretty darn good today. It makes it tough.”
The Sox did get a good effort from Jose Quintana, who made another start in place of the injured John Danks.
Quintana deftly worked out of trouble in each of the first four innings before Toronto scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
The Jays closed it out when Rajai Davis hit a 2-run homer off reliever Hector Santiago in the ninth.
Quintana is likely to make another start and then head back to Class AAA Charlotte when Danks comes off the disabled list.
But the left-hander has served notice the White Sox have in-house options if Philip Humber and/or Gavin Floyd continue to struggle.
“I do feel I deserve to at least stay here until John comes back, but it's just one of those that I'll do as asked and try to do the best I can when I'm called upon,” Quintana said through a translator. “I just go out there and just kind of go with what's dictated to me. Try to stay focused and not hurry anything.”
sgregor@dailyherald.com