Quintana's three shutout innings lead White Sox
Lefty strikes out two; Mitchell goes 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Jose Quintana threw three perfect innings to start Saturday's 4-0 White Sox victory over the Reds at Camelback Ranch.
Needless to say, the White Sox southpaw was happy with his 2013 Cactus League debut. And even though Bronson Arroyo allowed two runs on five hits over two innings, he was satisfied with his first start of Spring Training as well.
"It happens a lot in spring where guys are in a different mindframe. You get two strikes on a guy and it's hard to put them away in Spring Training," Arroyo said. "There's not as much setup to the game. It's more freewheeling.
"A couple of times I had 0-2 counts, I was just trying to throw a pitch that maybe you wouldn't necessarily throw in an 0-2 count. I was just seeing if I could freeze a guy or something or get some action and those were the balls they were hitting and jamming off of their hands. It's the way it goes."
Arroyo allowed a run-scoring bloop double to Jared Mitchell and a run-scoring single to Carlos Sanchez during the second inning. He also struck out Brent Morel and didn't issue a walk.
Quintana cruised through three innings on just 39 pitches and only two three-ball counts. He struck out Miguel Olivo and Jay Bruce.
"I feel very good about this," said Quintana through translator and White Sox coach Lino Diaz. "I've been working hard and I feel that I saw some of the results from my hard work. I'm expecting a very good season."
Along with the second-inning double, Mitchell launched an opposite-field homer to left-center in the fourth off Armando Galarraga. The young outfielder was the lone player to have multiple hits. Conor Gillaspie added a solo homer in the sixth, giving him two home runs and seven RBIs in Cactus League action.
White Sox up next: Jake Peavy, the $29 million man, takes the mound for the first time in 2013 Cactus League competition Sunday against the Padres in Peoria on a 2:05 p.m. CT start (broadcast live on MLB.TV and Gameday Audio), and the White Sox couldn't be happier. Peavy and the White Sox avoided the right-hander going to free agency by agreeing to a two-year deal in late October. Don't base Peavy's status on the mound by his results in Arizona, as he usually works on specific aspects of his repertoire early on.