Jose Quintana was hoping to get back on track.
The White Sox southpaw has struggled with his command through his first three starts of the season. While he felt his command was better, he still issued three walks Friday night in the White Sox 3-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Quintana allowed three runs, including a home run, on five hits with six strikeouts but took the loss as the White Sox couldn’t figure out Corey Kluber.
Quintana's three walks raised his total to 12 on the season, tying his career-high for most walks in a four-game span.
“I think he just hasn't been as sharp,” manager Rick Renteria said. “I thought today was better. There's some things to still clean up, I think his command is getting better. You could see it with him. He's starting to feel a little better as his outings continue to accumulate.
“For the most part, again, against a pretty good club like that, to limit them to three runs and to give us six innings of work, it's pretty good."
Trying to revert back to anything that resembles the career 3.47 ERA pitcher that he is, Quintana focused on improving his command during his bullpen session on Wednesday. It ended with the 28-year-old feeling good about his next outing against Cleveland, a team he was 7-3 with a 2.53 ERA in his career entering Friday.
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In the third inning, a wild pitch by Quintana gave the Indians their first run of the night. An inning later, Quintana issued a two-out walk followed by a two-run homer by Brandon Guyer.
Though Quintana had his own struggles, the White Sox didn't offer their ace any run support against Kluber, who pitched a three-hit shutout.
Despite being off to a 0-4 start, Quintana said he is “absolutely” confident that the wins will eventually start coming.
“I’m not frustrated right now,” Quintana said. “I threw the ball well, I felt good today, and I’ll just keep going.”