CHICAGO — After 99 pitches over six innings, Jose Quintana gave the Chicago White Sox a chance to win.
Then Avisail Garcia gave him the rest of the afternoon off.
Garcia's two-run home run in the sixth inning broke a tie and lifted the White Sox to a 5-2 victory Wednesday, completing a series sweep of the reeling Kansas City Royals, who finished their trip 0-7.
"I wanted to stay in the game and go back in the seventh inning, but (manager Rick Renteria) said if we take the lead, you stay. If we're tied, you go back," Quintana said. "(Garcia) hit a bomb at the right time and it was big time. He told me that's for you, and I'm happy with that."
Quintana (1-4) got the run support he needed after receiving only four runs in his first four starts combined. The left-hander had a season-high 10 strikeouts. He allowed five hits and two runs — one earned — and walked two.
Renteria dispatched relievers Dan Jennings, Tommy Kahnle, Nate Jones and David Robertson for three scoreless innings, with Robertson converting his fifth save in five tries.
"They've been the epitome of a solid bullpen," said Renteria, who knocked on a wooden table twice when talking about the unit, which has combined for a 1.96 ERA, second in the majors. "In the end, once you go ahead and put the club ahead, which those guys did, there's no need to push the envelope with (Quintana) any further. We could get it with the other guys."
Garcia's two-run homer, his fourth of the season, went to deep center field to give Chicago a 4-2 lead.
Leury Garcia added a solo home run in the seventh inning for the White Sox, who earned their fourth straight win.
Chicago's Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier had consecutive two-out RBI doubles in the first inning to open the scoring.
Jorge Bonifacio scored Alcides Escobar on an RBI single in the fifth inning, and Escobar's groundout scored Alex Gordon to tie it at 2 in the top of the sixth.
Right-hander Nathan Karns (0-2) took the loss, allowing four runs in six innings for the Royals, who stranded 11 runners.
"We hit some balls right on the nose, we just couldn't find holes with them," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I'm encouraged by what I saw."
The teams will meet again for a four-game series starting Monday in Kansas City, part of a 10-game home stand for the Royals.
INDIANS 7, ASTROS 6 Michael Brantley, continuing his comeback from shoulder problems that forced him to miss most of last season, drove in three runs and the Cleveland Indians defeated the Houston Astros 7-6 on Wednesday night. Brantley, who played in only 11 games last season after having two operations on his left shoulder, had an RBI double in Cleveland’s three-run first inning and added a two-run single in the fifth. Carlos Santana had a two-run double in the sixth for the Indians, who have won six of eight.
YANKEES 3, RED SOX 1 Luis Severino pitched seven innings of three-hit, shutout ball and Aaron Judge celebrated his 25th birthday with a two-run homer and spectacular catch, carrying the surging New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night in the longtime rivals’ first meeting this season. It was the 11th win in 14 games for the Yankees after they opened the season 1-4.
RANGERS 14, TWINS 3 Joey Gallo took a couple of hits to score the tiebreaking run, Ryan Rua connected for a grand slam and the Texas Rangers avoided another series sweep with a 14-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night. Rua’s first career slam came in the eighth and Shin-Soo Choo, who had already tripled in the inning, added a three-run homer to cap the late eight-run outburst.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
PIRATES 6, CUBS 5 Gift Ngoepe, the first African to reach the major leagues, singled in his first plate appearance and Josh Harrison led off the bottom of the first with a home run Wednesday night to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Ngoepe was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and entered the game in fourth inning as part of a double switch and finished 1-for-2 with a walk. The 27-year-old South African, who signed with the Pirates in 2008 as an amateur free agent, led off the bottom of the fourth with a hit off winless Cubs ace Jon Lester.
BRAVES 8, METS 2 Julio Teheran stifled the Mets into the seventh inning, Robert Gsellman staggered through a five-run first and the Atlanta Braves handed New York its fifth straight loss, 8-2 on Wednesday night. Atlanta ended a six-game skid behind 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball from Teheran (2-1). The righthander allowed four hits, four walks and a pair of sacrifice flies while striking out four. He is 4-0 with a 0.91 ERA in his last seven starts against New York dating to June 21, 2015. The ailing Mets got Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud back in the lineup but still dropped their ninth in 10 games.