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Quintana shuts out the Red Sox over eight

The White Sox have made a habit out of playing -- and winning -- close games lately.

Each of their last 10 games has been decided by three runs or fewer, with the White Sox going 6-4 over that stretch. Before winning five straight games toward the end of July, the White Sox trailed the Tigers by 1 1/2 games in the American League Central. Entering play Wednesday, they hold a half-game division lead after a 5-2 loss to the Royals on Tuesday night.

"They're used to it," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "We have good pitching so we're usually in games, the way the offense is going or not. So that's one of the things that happens when you got guys that pitch well and play defense. They just have a feeling they're going to win a game, and that's more important whether it's close or not. They just feel they're going to win games."

Jose Quintana will pitch on eight days' rest in Wednesday's series finale for the White Sox in their rubber match against the Royals. It will likely be the rookie left-hander's final extended break before the White Sox go into the home stretch of the regular season. Quintana has earned no-decisions in each of his last four starts and has not lost since turning in a quality start in a June 6 defeat against the Blue Jays.

In his last start, Quintana tied season highs by allowing six runs, four of them earned, and 10 hits in seven innings while walking one and striking out none. It was just the club's fourth loss in the 12 games that Quintana has started.

Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie, on the other hand, has not won in his last 14 starts. Since surrendering a season-high 12 hits while beating the Astros on May 31 while a member of the Rockies, Guthrie is 0-9 with a 7.43 ERA and has allowed 85 hits in 59 1/3 innings. He delivered his fifth quality start in his last outing but still took the loss as the Royals dropped a 5-3 decision to the Rangers last Friday, giving up three runs on six hits over six innings, striking out four and walking two while throwing 65 of his 104 pitches for strikes. He is 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in three starts for the Royals.

"I thought Jeremy Guthrie pitched by far the best game he's pitched since he's been here," Royals manager Ned Yost said after Friday's loss. "You can see him starting to get on track. The velocity on his fastball's now up to 95 miles per hour. [He's] executing pitches, keeping it down."

Royals: Colon promoted to Triple-A
• Shortstop Christian Colon, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, was promoted to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday. The Royals' 10th-best prospect, according to MLB.com, Colon was batting .284 with five home runs, 27 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 73 games with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, drawing more walks (31) than the number of times he struck out (27).

Ned Yost said it was "way too early to think about" considering the possibility of Colon being a September callup, although Colon could get playing time at short since the Royals purchased the contract of Tony Abreu from Omaha on Monday.

White Sox: Youkilis sits with sore knee
• For the first time since missing the series finale against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 19, Kevin Youkilis was out of the White Sox lineup on Tuesday. He did not play in the 5-2 loss to the Royals while he nursed a sore right knee. Youkilis was replaced by Rey Olmedo, who went 1-for-3 while batting ninth, and Gordon Beckham hit leadoff, allowing Alexei Ramirez to bat second.

• Alejandro De Aza missed his second game after experiencing lower back stiffness ever since taking a knee in his back from the Angels' Maicer Izturis while stretching a single into a double in Saturday's 6-5 loss. The White Sox have an off-day Thursday but De Aza does not believe his injury is serious and could return on Wednesday. Jordan Danks took his place in center field on Tuesday.

"It is tough, but I just want to get better," De Aza said. "I'd rather lose two or three days and get healthy and then go back to play instead of trying to play and get worse."

• For the first time in his last seven games, A.J. Pierzynski failed to drive in a run in the 5-2 loss to the Royals on Tuesday night. Pierzynski has hit a career-high 21 home runs this year, which leads all Major League catchers. He is on pace to hit 32 homers, which would be the second-highest single-season total by a White Sox catcher, behind only Carlton Fisk's 37 home runs in 1985.

"Catchers are involved in every play," Ventura said. "You're weak if you're not strong up the middle and it starts behind the plate and goes all the way out to shortstop, second base, center field. I don't know a lot of teams that are good that don't have a good catcher."

Worth noting
• Pierzynski and Alex Rios are riding nine-game hitting streaks.

• White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn hit an RBI single off the Royals' Bruce Chen to break a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning on Tuesday. He is three RBIs away from having 1,000 for his career.

• Chen picked up his 68th career win on Tuesday, passing Juan Berenguer for second-most among Panamanians. He trails only Mariano Rivera, who has 76 victories.

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