Final, White Sox 3-1: Addison Reed retires the side in order, sending the rain-soaked Chicago crowd streaking for the exits and handing the Red Sox their second straight loss.
White Sox starter Jose Quinata was stellar tonight, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning to record his fourth win of the season. Boston touched Chicago’s bullpen for one run in the eighth, but a failure to score with the bases loaded an inning earlier proved costly.
Felix Doubront tossed one of his best outings of the season (two runs, five hits, two walks over six innings) but was saddled with the loss after being removed with just 85 pitches under his belt.
The two teams will conclude their three-game set Wednesday night, with Clay Buchholz searching for his seventh win over the season opposite Hector Santiago, who gets the start in place of injured ace Chris Sale.
First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET, with coverage getting underway on NESN at 7 p.m.
End 8th, White Sox 3-1: Miller strikes Adam Dunn, and we head to the ninth.
Mike Napoli, Daniel Nava and Will Middlebrooks are due up against White Sox closer Addison Reed, whose 15 saves rank third in the majors.
Bottom 8th, White Sox 3-1: The Red Sox bullpen has been so good on this road trip, but Alex Wilson can’t keep Boston within one in the eighth.
After quickly recording the first two outs (of course), Wilson allowed a single to Alexei Ramirez — who atoned for his error in Boston’s half of the inning — and an RBI double to Alex Rios, spotting Chicago a 3-1 lead.
A walk to Paul Konerko prompted John Farrell to bring in Andrew Miller, who began his warm-up pitches amid the pouring rain at U.S. Cellular Field.
Mid 8th, White Sox 2-1: Matt Thornton didn’t last long in the eighth before being yanked in favor of Matt Lindstrom. The lefty struggled last night, too, allowing the Red Sox to make a game of it with two runs in the seventh.
Thornton allowed both batters he faced to reach in this one, walking Jarrod Saltalamacchia and giving up a single up the middle to Jacoby Ellsbury.
Lindstrom got Mike Carp — pinch-hitting for Jonny Gomes — to pop out to left-center, but a wild pitch allowed both runners to advance, putting men on second and third with one out.
Chicago then reverted to the terrible defense that has plagued the team all year. Alexei Ramirez, who made a number of impressive plays in Monday’s win, allowed Dustin Pedroia’s ground ball to go right through him, with Salty scoring from third on the error. The White Sox’ .980 fielding percentage entering tonight ranks last in the American League.
A 3-6-3 double play kept the damage to a minimum, but the Red Sox now trail by just one run with an inning and a half to play.
End 7th, White Sox 2-0: Alex Wilson makes quick work of the White Sox in the eighth.
Wilson, one of the few Red Sox players who prominently displays his red socks, induced a pair of fly outs that were easily settled under by Daniel Nava and then fielded Tyler Flowers’ two-out grounder himself, flipping to Mike Napoli to end the inning.
It’ll be Salty then the top of the order for the Sox in their half of the eighth.
Mid 7th, White Sox 2-0: The Red Sox loaded the bases against Quintana but could not capitalize off Jesse Crain, who struck out both Will Middlebrooks and Stephen Drew to strand the potential go-ahead runner on first.
Felix Doubront’s night is done, as well, as righty Alex Wilson takes over on the mound. Doubront leaves with a pitching line of two runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts over six innings.
Top 7th, White Sox 2-0: It’s seemingly always a bloop that brings down a no-hitter, and that held true again tonight.
David Ortiz’s broken-bat single into shallow center field with one out in the seventh ended Jose Quintana’s no-hit bid. Ortiz’s base knock came on Quintana’s 98th pitch of the night, though, so it’s questionable how much longer he would be able to last even if the no-hitter remained intact.
Mike Napoli followed Papi’s single with one of his own, bringing White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper out for a meeting at the mound. A third straight single, this one by Daniel Nava, loaded the bases with one out and brought Quintana’s night to a close.
Right-hander Jesse Crain will come on in relief.
End 6th, White Sox 2-0: Felix Doubront got into some trouble with two outs again, but he managed to escape unscathed.
Doubront retired Alejandro De Aza and Alexei Ramirez on three pitches total (both groundouts to Dustin Pedroia) but needed 16 more to complete the inning.
He first allowed a single to Alex Rios, who extended his hitting streak to 16 games, before walking Paul Konerko and building up a full-count against Adam Dunn. Dunn gave a 3-2 fastball a ride to right field, but Daniel Nava settled under it for the final out.
Doubront’s pitch count is only at 85 so far, but he has been shaky in each of the last two innings. It will be interesting to see if John Farrell sends him back out for the seventh.
Mid 6th, White Sox 2-0: The Red Sox put a baserunner on for the first time since the second inning, but Jose Quintana’s no-hitter remains intact.
Quintana got Stephen Drew to pop out to shallow center field and struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia swinging before issuing a free pass to Jacoby Ellsbury.
Ellsbury was unable to advance — Jonny Gomes struck out to end the inning — but the fact that he is showing a discerning eye has to be a good sign for the Red Sox higher-ups. It was the first walk Ellsbury has drawn in 21 at-bats.
End 5th, White Sox 2-0: After a nearly flawless first four innings, Felix Doubront came off the rails a bit in the fifth.
After two quick outs to start the inning, Dayan Viciedo’s ground ball skidded just under the outstretched glove of Will Middlebrooks, putting the left fielder on base.
Viciedo didn’t spend much time on first, as Jeff Keppinger sent Doubront’s next pitch over the left-field fence for a two-run homer, giving the White Sox their first lead of the night.
Tyler Flowers nearly followed suit in the next at-bat, but his home run bid hit halfway up the way, instead resulting in a double. He was stranded on second, though, as No. 9 hitter Tyler Greene grounded out to Middlebrooks to end the frame.
The Red Sox’ struggles to close out innings continue, as all eight of Chicago’s runs in the series have come with two outs.
Mid 5th, 0-0: Sorry if I jinx you, Jose, but Quintana has not allowed a hit through five innings. Three more fly-ball outs allowed him to complete another 1-2-3 inning in just eight pitches.
His White Sox have managed just one hit tonight, though, and this game is playing out much like Quintana’s second start of the season back in April.
Quintana pitched a gem in that one, allowing just one hit and walking none over seven shutout innings, but the Chicago batters could not muster any support for their starter. Nick Swisher ended up giving the Indians a 1-0 victory with a walk-off single in the ninth.
End 4th, 0-0: Alejandro De Aza drew the first walk against Felix Doubront tonight to open the inning, but a heads-up play by Mike Napoli prevented him from advancing.
With De Aza on first, Alexei Ramirez smacked a sharp grounded toward Napoli. Knowing he did not have the time to complete a double play conventionally, the first baseman stepped on first and fired the ball around De Aza to shortstop Stephen Drew, who tagged the runner to complete the twin killing.
Alex Rios then grounded out to Drew to end the inning. Thanks to a pair of well-timed double plays, Doubront has still faced the minimum (12 batters) tonight despite issuing the fourth-inning walk and allowing a single in the first.
Mid 4th, 0-0: Three fly outs ended it for the Red Sox in the third inning, and three groundouts did the same in the fourth.
Jonny Gomes and Dustin Pedroia both grounded to third baseman Jeff Keppinger, and Tyler Greene made a nice play with the shift to snag a David Ortiz roller between first and second base.
Neither team has been able to place a runner in scoring position tonight, and Chicago’s Alexei Ramirez still owns the only hit.
End 3rd, 0-0: Elevated pitch counts early in games have prevented Felix Doubront from working deep into games (and often caused his starts to become three-plus-hour affairs), but control has not been an issue for the southpaw tonight.
Doubront has faced the minimum through three innings, needing just nine pitches to retire Jeff Keppinger, Tyler Flowers and Tyler Greene in the third.
His pitch count sits at 34 thus far, and he’ll have to keep that total reined in if he hopes to pitch past the seventh inning for the first time this season.
Mid 3rd, 0-0: That was quick. Six pitches, three outs.
Jose Quintana went back to a steady diet of fastballs after varying his pitch selection a bit in the second, and it resulted in consecutive flyouts by Stephen Drew and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a Jacoby Ellsbury popout to shortstop.
Jeff Keppinger and the White Sox’ two Tylers (Flowers and Greene) are due up for Chicago.
End 2nd, 0-0: Back-to-back strikeouts give Felix Doubront his second straight 1-2-3 inning.
The first of those K’s came against Adam Dunn, who victimized Jon Lester last night with a three-run home run in the first inning. That was just Dunn’s third hit of the season against a left-hander, though, as the DH has struggled mightily against southpaws.
Dunn is also arguably the most strikeout-prone hitter in the majors. Last night marked just the eighth time this season that he did not go down by way of the K.
Doubront also sat down Dayan Viciedo swinging and induced a 5-3 groundout off the bat of Paul Konerko.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: The Red Sox’ first baserunner of the night comes as a result of the best at-bat of the game so far.
After falling behind 0-2, Daniel Nava fouled off six Jose Quintana pitches before working a 12-pitch walk with two outs. Nava would advance no further than first, though, as Will Middlebrooks saw just three pitches before grounding out to shortstop to end the inning.
Quintana also struck out Mike Napoli swinging and got David Ortiz to pop out to third base to open the inning.
Those who were hoping to see White Sox ace Chris Sale start tomorrow night’s series finale will be disappointed, as the lefty has been scratched with some mild tendinitis in his throwing shoulder.
End 1st, 0-0: Alexei Ramirez reaches on an infield single for the game’s first hit, but Felix Doubront got the following hitter, Alex Rios, to ground into an inning-ending double play to prevent any damage.
Will Middlebrooks was unable to field Ramirez’s slow roller cleanly, but he likely would not have been able to catch the fleet-footed shortstop, anyway.
Rios went 1-for-3 with a walk and scored the game’s first run last night, and he has been an absolute force on the offensive end this season. The right-fielder is batting .301 with 10 homers and 25 RBIs and enters tonight on a league-best 15-game hitting streak.
Mid 1st, 0-0: So, this first inning taught us that Jose Quintana plans on throwing a whole lot of fastballs tonight.
Fourteen of his 15 pitches were of the heater variety — with one slider tossed in there — and the Red Sox could not get out ahead of them.
Quintana got ahead of leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury 0-2 before inducing a flyout to center (though Alejandro De Aza nearly overran it and needed a little hop to make the catch) and proceeded to strike out both Jonny Gomes and Dustin Pedroia swinging.
De Aza, Alexei Ramirez and Alex Rios are due up first against Red Sox starter Felix Doubront.
8:11 p.m.: Jacoby Ellsbury takes strike one from Jose Quintana and we are underway.
In just his second season in the majors, Quintana has enjoyed moderate success since making his big-league debut last May.
Control problems began to mount as last summer wore on, but the left-hander was dominant in his lone appearance against Boston, scattering five hits and zero walks over eight shutout innings at Fenway on July 19. His bullpen couldn’t back him up, though, as the Red Sox came away with a 3-1 victory.
Ellsbury, Jonny Gomes and Dustin Pedroia will be the first to challenge Quintana tonight.
6:30 p.m.: The lineups have been released for tonight’s tilt, and apart from one predictable adjustment — Daniel Nava shifting to right field in place of the injured Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes filling Victorino’s No. 2 slot and playing left — they’re identical to what the teams trotted out last night.
Red Sox fans — and, they hope, the Red Sox coaching staff — with be watching leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury very closely tonight. The argument to move Ellsbury down in the order for the first time all season has continued to gain steam, particularly after the center fielder went 0-for-4 with four groundouts to the second baseman in Monday’s 6-4 loss.
That argument has now been complicated further, however, by Victorino’s injury, as some have argued for him to be moved up to the top of the order if Ellsbury continues to struggle. Now with Victorino out (for however long that may be), a look at the Sox’ roster yields no compelling replacement for Ellsbury in the No. 1 slot. John Farrell certainly hopes that is a bridge he will not have to cross.
(According to The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham, Victorino’s condition is being considered “day-to-day” at the moment, but Farrell has not ruled out placing him on the disabled list.)
Take a look at the full starting lineups for both teams below.
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Jonny Gomes, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, RF
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Stephen Drew, SS
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Felix Doubront, P
White Sox
Alejando De Aza, CF
Alexei Ramirez, SS
Alex Rios, RF
Paul Konerko, 1B
Adam Dunn, DH
Dayan Viciedo, LF
Jeff Keppinger, 3B
Tyler Flowers, C
Tyler Greene, 2B
Jose Quintana, P
8 a.m. ET: The Red Sox came into the final leg of their road trip riding a five-game winning streak. That did not seem to impress the White Sox, who proceeded to rough up Boston ace Jon Lester en route to a 6-4 win Monday night.
The Sox-Sox series continues on Tuesday, with Boston sending Felix Doubront to the hill to oppose Chicago’s Jose Quintana.
Doubront (3-1, 6.03 ERA) is making his second start since returning to the rotation after injuries elsewhere on the staff forced him briefly into the bullpen. He finished with a no-decision his last time out — a 4-3 win over the Rays last Thursday — and struggled mightily with his location, walking a season-high six batter in just five innings.
Quintana has compiled a 2-1 record with a 3.97 ERA through eight starts but hasn’t notched a win since April 24. The southpaw allowed four runs on six hits and three walks in a no-decision against the Angels last Thursday.
First pitch from Chicago is scheduled for 8:10 p.m., with coverage starting on NESN at 7 p.m.
