Familiar loss for Quintana, White Sox

For the Chicago White Sox, many things have changed this season.

On Sunday afternoon, however, everything looked much the same.

Jose Quintana was back on the mound for his second start of the season. The Sox's new ace was much better than he was in the season opener, when he took the loss against the Detroit Tigers after allowing 6 runs on 5 hits (3 home runs) and 3 walks in 5⅓ innings.

“I felt pretty good,” Quintana said. “Better than last time. My command was better. It was a tough game.”

Against Minnesota Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field, Quintana pitched 6⅓ innings and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk to go with 7 strikeouts.

The White Sox lost to the Twins 4-1, which should sound familiar.

Since 2012, Quintana's 3.93 run support average is the fourth lowest total in the major leagues.

“That's happened,” Quintana said. “You can throw a good game, throw well and that happens. It's the beginning of the season. We won't stop, we'll keep going.”

Working out of trouble in the second, third and fourth innings, Quintana (0-2) only made one bad pitch, and Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco hit the 1-2 offering over the left-field fence leading off the seventh.

“I was frustrated with the pitch,” Quintana said. “I knew I had two more pitches to get him to chase or something and I missed with a fastball.”

Quintana has every right to be upset, but another round of low run support was the main reason the White Sox lost.

“There's going to be days like that,” shortstop Tim Anderson said. “We can't do nothing about it but keep playing.”

Quintana pitched good enough to win, but Minnesota starter Ervin Santana was better while working 6 scoreless innings.

“He kind of put us in check a little bit,” Sox manager Rick Renteria said of the Twins' right-hander.

Miguel Sano hit a 2-run homer off Nate Jones in the eighth to make it a 4-0 game, but the White Sox loaded the bases with one out against reliever Matt Belisle in the bottom of the inning.

After Matt Davidson struck out swinging, Brandon Kintzler relieved Belisle and hit Avisail Garcia with a pitch to force in a run.

Kintzler worked out of trouble by striking out Yolmer Sanchez.

Davidson took three big hacks against Belisle and came up empty, but Renteria was not down on the young designated hitter.

“Matty was in the situation where we need him to just put a really good swing on a pitch,” Renteria said. “He was trying to put a good swing on a pitch and run into one. And it wasn't that he was trying to hit a homer, just putting velocity and impact and determination into his swing. He ended up swinging through a couple pitches.”