Jose Abreu, Avisail Garcia each hit 2 homers as White Sox roll past Rockies 15-3
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia each hit two of Chicago's six homers, powering the White Sox to a 15-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.
Jose Quintana pitched seven sharp innings, and Tyler Flowers and Alexei Ramirez also went deep for the first time this season. The White Sox had six total home runs before the fireworks in this one at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
The long balls were the first of the season for both Garcia and Abreu, the Cuban slugger who signed a $68 million, six-year contract in October. Garcia finished with four hits and three RBIs, while Abreu had a three-run homer in the seventh and a two-run shot an inning later.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Marcus Semien also had four of Chicago's 19 hits.
Quintana (1-0) bottled up Colorado most of the night, allowing five hits and two runs. He struck out four. The left-hander appeared ready to pitch the eighth, but after the White Sox batted around, scoring six times, Quintana was removed for a reliever.
Franklin Morales (0-1) gave up six runs and two homers in 6 1-3 innings. Morales was essentially pitching to keep his spot in the rotation, especially with Jordan Lyles (2-0) off to a strong start and Tyler Chatwood (hamstring) soon returning from the disabled list.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Once Morales was pulled, Chicago went to work against Colorado's relievers, with Chad Bettis giving up a homer in the seventh and Wilton Lopez serving up three more in the eighth, including back-to-back shots by Garcia and Ramirez.
Lopez's line wasn't pretty: six runs, eight hits and three homers while getting just two outs. He was booed as he walked off the mound by the smattering of fans that remained.
Michael Cuddyer had a double and a solo homer off Quintana. Troy Tulowitzki added an RBI double.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Rockies juggled their lineup to give several starters the day off, including Carlos Gonzalez and streaking Charlie Blackmon. Tulowitzki was in the field a day after being taken out with a tight right quadriceps.
Tulowitzki looked a little tentative running out a grounder in the first inning and again in the fourth. He easily trotted to second on his RBI double in the sixth, which made it 4-2.
The smooth-fielding shortstop said before the game he felt a slight twinge in his leg in the cool weather Monday and was taken out as a precaution. Tulowitzki has a history of leg ailments, and the Rockies plan to play it safe.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Asked if the tweak was at all a concern, Tulowitzki said: "If I play it smart and do the stuff that I need to do before the game, I think I'll be fine."
NOTES: White Sox RHP Erik Johnson (0-1) pitches Wednesday against RHP Juan Nicasio (1-0) in the finale of the three-game series. ... Chatwood tossed 6 1-3 innings for Triple-A Colorado Springs, giving up one run and striking out eight. ... Cuddyer has a hit in all nine games this season. The longest hitting streak to start a season in Rockies history is 16 games by Juan Pierre in 2000. ... A line drive off the bat of Garcia in the eighth hit a fan sitting above the first base dugout in the face. He held a towel to his face as medical personnel escorted him up the aisle.