Quintana, White Sox beat Red Sox 4-1 for 3rd straight win
CHICAGO (AP) — Jose Quintana supplied the pitching, Jose Abreu took care of the offense and the defense was there all night long.
Quintana pitched eight strong innings for his third straight win, and AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox cooled off the Boston Red Sox with a 4-1 victory on Tuesday.
Abreu had two hits and three RBIs as Chicago ran its record to 19-8 for its best start since it had the same record in 2006. It has won three straight and nine of 11 overall to keep up with the major league-leading Cubs, revving up the anticipation for an intriguing summer in the Windy City.
Chicago White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier, left, and first baseman Jose Abreu celebrate the White Sox's 4-1 win over Boston Red Sox after a baseball game Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The White Sox kicked off a six-game home stand without John Danks after general manager Rick Hahn said the team will cut the left-hander on Thursday, ending a 10-year run with the franchise.
Danks hasn't been the same since he had shoulder surgery in 2012. He was hit hard while dropping his first four starts this year.
"It's kind of sad to see a guy like that leave," catcher Dioner Navarro said. "Everybody loves him, he's a great teammate, he's a great pitcher. Just going through a tough stretch right now."
Hanley Ramirez's one-out homer in the fifth halted Quintana's scoreless streak at 20 1-3 innings, but the lefty bounced back by retiring Travis Shaw and Chris Young on a pair of grounders. He retired three in a row after Xander Bogaerts' leadoff single in the seventh, including swinging strikeouts of David Ortiz and Shaw.
The Cubs thrashed the Pirates 7-1 in Pittsburgh, with Jake Arrieta scattering two hits in seven shutout innings.
Seven months after shutting the Pirates down in the NL wild card playoff, Arrieta allowed only singles to Sean Rodriguez in the second and Francisco Cervelli in the seventh. Arrieta (6-0) struck out five and walked two while lowering his ERA to 0.84. He became the second six-game winner in the major leagues after Chris Sale of the White Sox.
Kris Bryant had three hits for the Cubs, who have won seven of eight and moved five games ahead of Pittsburgh in the NL Central.
The Royals edged the Washington Nationals 7-6, with Lorenzo Cain capping a three-run ninth inning with a two-out single to left, bringing home Mike Moustakas and giving Kansas City a victory.
The Atlanta Braves, with the worst record in the majors at 7-19, beat the New York Mets 3-0 for their third win in five games following an eight-game skid.
Asdrubal Cabrera's single to center field with one out in the fifth was the lone hit for the defending NL champion Mets.
At St. Louis, Ryan Howard homered to lead Philadelphia to a 1-0 win over the Cardinals, giving the Phillies their seventh win in eight games and sending the home team to its fifth loss in six.
The Houston Astros hung on for a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore beat the Yankees 4-1 to extend New York's losing streak to six games and the Toronto Blue Jays had a 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers, with Justin Smoak's first two home runs of the season, a tying drive in the ninth inning and two-run shot in the 10th, accounting for the victory.
At Cleveland, Francisco Lindor hit a three-run homer, scored three times and fell a triple short of the cycle, leading the Indians to a 7-3 win over the Tigers, ending Detroit's five-game winning streak.
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-5, the San Francisco Giants had a 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, the Florida Marlins rallied to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-4, the Milwaukee Brewers came back from a four-run deficit to beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-4, the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland A's 8-2 and the San Diego Padres had a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jose Quintana delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Chicago White Sox center fielder Austin Jackson makes a leaping catch of a fly ball by Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz, on the warning track during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Boston Red Sox's Hanley Ramirez celebrates his home run in the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Steven Wright delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Boston Red Sox pitching coach Carl Willis, left, talks to starting pitcher Steven Wright (35) during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in Chicago. Also on the mound are from left, Xander Bogaerts, Travis Shaw, and Dustin Pedroia (15). (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
