White Sox LHP Quintana beats A's for 10th win
CHICAGO -- Jose Quintana reached a career milestone as the Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Sunday afternoon.
Quintana (10-9) earned his 10th victory, a career high in a season for the left-hander, and the White Sox took two of three against the A's.
Jose Abreu homered for the White Sox (59-64), who have won five of their last nine games.
The Athletics (53-71) have lost seven of eight and 16 of 22.
Quintana struck out six, walked one and gave up two runs and eight hits in seven innings. He exited after issuing a leadoff walk in the eighth. Quintana reached nine victories in each of his last three seasons.
The White Sox were averaging 3.31 runs per Quintana start, the lowest run support in the American League. They almost surpassed that in the first inning, scoring three runs. Justin Morneau hit an RBI double and Todd Frazier's single scored two.
The A's made it a one-run game on Khris Davis' 32nd home run, a two-run shot in the fourth.
Abreu homered for the second straight game. He hit a solo shot for his 16th of the season in the bottom of the fourth.
A's starter Zach Neal (2-3) allowed four runs and eight hits in just 4 2/3 innings. He started in place of Jesse Hahn, who experienced discomfort in a bullpen session and will pitch at least one more rehab outing before coming off the disabled list. Neal, a rookie, is 1-0 with a 3.15 ERA in relief appearances but was 1-2 with a 7.98 ERA in three previous starts.
Chad Pinder of the A's recorded his first major league hit on an infield single in the seventh. He went 0-for-4 in his major league debut Saturday.
David Robertson earned his 32nd save, the third most in the American League.
NOTES: White Sox 2B Brett Lawrie (hamstring) returned from his rehab assignment with Double-A Birmingham and is expected to be evaluated Monday. ... Oakland DH Billy Butler (stomach illness) was out of the lineup for the second straight game. ... Athletics RHP Jesse Hahn (right shoulder) was originally expected to start Sunday but he experienced discomfort in a bullpen session. He will pitch another rehab outing before returning to the team. ... LHP Sean Doolittle's (left shoulder) rehab assignment is expected to last longer and he likely won't rejoin the A's this week. ... White Sox INF Tyler Saladino (back) remained out of the lineup for the third straight game. He should be available Tuesday after Monday's off day, Ventura said. ... White Sox 1B Jose Abreu's 5-year-old son was in attendance Saturday when Abreu homered. Abreu said his better performance has "100 percent" to do with his son visiting from Cuba.