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CLEVELAND -- On a chilly April night, with his entire left arm wrapped in ice, Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jose Quintana stood outside of his locker and with a deep sigh of relief, he smiled and said: "I'm back, I'm back."

Coming off a four-inning start in his first start against the Seattle Mariners in which he gave up six runs, Quintana took to the mound on Friday night aided by an extra day of rest trying to give his bullpen some much-needed rest.

Quintana delivered -- even if the Sox bats did not in a 1-0 loss to Justin Masterson -- with seven shutout, one-hit innings.

"I threw my pitches well," Quintana said through the help of an interpreter. "My fastball was there today and it allowed be to have a better game."

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CLEVELAND -- Here's a quick look at the Cleveland Indians' 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night:

How it happened: Nick Swisher took the first pitch he saw from Sox relief pitcher Jesse Crain and placed it right over the outstretched glove of Paul Konerko, driving in the only run in a walk-off victory. Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson improved to 3-0 with a complete-game shutout, striking out seven and walking one. Crain suffered his first loss of the season after giving up two of Cleveland's three hits. Sox starter Jose Quintana put together seven innings of one-hit ball, striking out seven with no walks. After Matt Thornton came on to pitch a perfect eighth inning, Crain allowed a one-out double to Indians' center fielder Michael Bourn who would score on a game-winning single from Swisher. The Indians managed just three hits on the evening, but managed to capitalize on a pitch-count decision from Chicago manager Robin Ventura.

What it means: After a subpar first start of the season, Quintana stifled the Indians. Given how overworked the Sox bullpen was in Washington, a starter eating up innings has to be a welcomed relief to Sox manager Robin Ventura. The White Sox, however, now fall a half-game behind the Indians for last place in the Central Division.

Outside the box: The Sox managed just two runners in scoring position. Despite strong efforts from the starting pitching, the Sox could not execute on their few opportunities to plate a runner. Cleveland capitalized on the Chicago call to the bullpen.
With his complete game shutout, Masterson has now thrown 19 consecutive scoreless innings, topping his personal best from June of 2012.

Off beat: After Connor Gillaspie doubled to deep left to lead off the eighth inning, Alexei Ramirez popped a bunt attempt up to Indians catcher Yan Gomes. A groundout followed by an Alejandro De Aza strikeout squashed all momentum the Sox could muster.

Up next: Chris Sale (1-0, 1.84 ERA) will square off against Cleveland's Zach McAllister (0-1, 3.00 ERA) at 3:05 p.m. CT Saturday.

CLEVELAND -- Second baseman Gordon Beckham joined the Chicago White Sox for their three-game series against the Cleveland Indians, but will remain in Cleveland as he will have surgery to repair his injured left wrist.

With Beckham being moved to the disabled list and expected to miss six weeks, the Sox recalled right-handed relief pitcher Deunte Heath from Triple-A Charlotte. Heath's promotion is largely due to the White Sox's bullpen being used often in Washington with starters Gavin Floyd and Dylan Axelrod combining for nine innings over the last two games against the Nationals.

"With Gordon going down, the way our last games have gone, you have to use guys over and over again," Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "The way we use our lineup, we don't see a lot of pinch-hit opportunities in there. For now, [adding Heath] lets guys get a break in between.

"I don't think it will be this way forever," Ventura said. "For right now, it's the most logical thing for me."

CLEVELAND -- Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko said Friday that it shouldn't have been a huge surprise to see his former teammate, Carlos Quentin, charge Zack Greinke on Thursday night, given the history between the two.

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Jesse Rogers enters the Cubs chat room at 12 CT, followed by Doug Padilla at 12:30.

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WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals have a lineup that doesn’t mind taking pitches or fouling them off. They want to make a pitcher work early in the game in order to wear him out later.

That’s just what happened to Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Axelrod Thursday night. Washington’s patience forced Axelrod to throw 103 pitches in just 3⅔ innings as the Nationals completed a three-game sweep of the Sox with a 7-4 victory at Nationals Park.

Axelrod’s problems began in the first inning. The Nationals scored just one run on two hits, but the right-hander needed to throw 40 pitches just to get out of that inning after Washington fouled off pitch after pitch.

“That’s not the way you want to start: 40 pitches in the first inning,” Axelrod said. “I guess I could have done a better job of challenging early. They made me work.”

Yes, they did. And that set the stage for other problems afterward. Axelrod (0-1) retired the Nats in order in the second, but Washington wore him down the second and third times through the order.

The Nationals kept staying patient and working deep into counts. That’s why they manufactured runs off of Axelrod. There were walks, stolen bases, a sacrifice fly, a double from Washington starter Dan Haren -- who scored the go-ahead run on an Axelrod wild pitch in the fourth -- and the back-breaker, a two-run double from Ryan Zimmerman in that inning, which gave the Nats a 6-3 lead and ended Axelrod’s night.

“They make it extremely hard,” Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. “Every time you go around, it gets a little harder, so [he] wasn’t able to get through that one. This is a tough team.”

Axelrod made some good pitches in different spots but ended up allowing six runs on seven hits in those 3⅔ long innings, which took nearly two hours to play. He also walked four and struck out two as the Nationals kept pushing.

“I felt all right [after the first inning], but obviously, you know, the more pitches you throw, your stuff just isn’t the same, just doesn’t have that zip on it," Axelrod said. "They're an aggressive team … they got deep into counts and made me work real hard."

WASHINGTON -- The White Sox couldn’t come through with clutch hits in the first two games of the Washington series. They didn't do much better in the series finale.

Chicago was a combined 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position in losses on Tuesday and Wednesday. The White Sox went just 3-for-13 in the same category Thursday despite getting 13 hits overall, and that lack of timely hitting proved very costly and let Washington wrap up a series sweep with a 7-4 victory.

“We actually swung it pretty good,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “We left a few guys on [base] early. This is a tough team. You have to take advantage of everything if you’re going to beat them.”

The White Sox didn’t take advantage of much at all. They knocked around Washington starter Dan Haren for three runs on 10 hits in five innings, but the right-hander kept squirming out of trouble and got the win.

Chicago left 11 runners on base overall, but eight of those came in the first five innings when Haren was pitching. The Sox kept getting the hits. In fact, five players finished with two hits in this game. They just didn’t come at the right time.

That was the difference in this game. Washington finished with 10 hits -- three fewer than the Sox -- but the Nationals went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Plus, the Nats went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position in those first two games and finished the series 11-for-25. That’s a long way from Chicago’s 4-for-28, and it's also why Washington kept scoring runs at the right times.

“We didn’t play terribly; we just got beat out there,” Chicago first baseman Paul Konerko said. “I mean, they did just every little [thing]. All the parts of the game -- we weren’t bad at them. We were OK at them actually, but they were just a little bit better, and that’s why they won the games.”

WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals starter Dan Haren scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch and Ryan Zimmerman added a two-run double moments later as Washington completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox with a 7-4 victory Thursday night.

How it happened: The Nationals kept getting key hits at the right time; the White Sox didn’t. Washington scored twice in the third for a 3-1 lead before Chicago’s Alejandro De Aza and Jeff Keppinger got back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth to tie the game. But Washington took over in the bottom half as Haren got a double and later scored on starter Dylan Axelrod's wild pitch to give the Nats a 4-3 lead. Zimmerman lined a two-run double to right later in the inning to go up 6-3. Adam Dunn collected an RBI double in the sixth for the Sox -- a ball that hit about halfway up the left-field wall, coming close to being a game-tying three-run homer.

What it means: It was a night of wasted chances. The White Sox finished with 13 hits, 10 of which came in the first five innings off Haren, who still got the win. Chicago missed on numerous scoring opportunities, finishing just 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position. The White Sox also left 11 on base.

Outside the box: Hector Santiago made just his third appearance of the season but pitched well again. After Axelrod gave up six runs in 3⅔ innings, Santiago blanked the Nationals for 2⅓ innings. That not only kept the Sox in the game, but it extended his scoreless streak to 13⅓ innings dating back to Oct. 1.

Off beat: Numbers tell the story of Axelrod’s long night. He needed 103 pitches to get through 3⅔ innings, giving up six runs on seven hits and taking the loss. There were 40 pitches in the first inning alone, plus four walks. Along with a wild pitch that brought in the go-ahead run in the fourth. Some good news -- Axelrod got his first major league hit. First baseman Adam LaRoche tried to make a diving catch of the pitcher’s sacrifice bunt in fourth but couldn’t quite do it and nobody else could make a play.

Up next: After the interleague series in Washington, the White Sox return to American League competition Friday in Cleveland when Jose Quintana (0-0, 11.25 ERA) takes on Justin Masterson (2-0, 0.69) in the series opener.

WASHINGTON -- Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham will miss about six weeks after an MRI showed Thursday that he's got a fractured left hamate bone.

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WASHINGTON -- Chicago White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper remains in a local hospital battling diverticulitis and will go back home once released and miss the rest of this three-city road trip.

Cooper has been at Inova Hospital in Northern Virginia since Tuesday, and team officials confirmed Thursday that the long-time pitching coach will go back home to Nashville after his release. He is not going to come with the Sox to either Cleveland or Toronto after they leave Washington.

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WASHINGTON -- Chicago White Sox starter Gavin Floyd looked sharp during his first time through the Washington lineup. He didn’t fare as well the second and third time around, the fate of many pitchers who face the Nationals.

The Nats touched up Floyd for five runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 5-2 victory over Chicago on Wednesday night. Floyd struck out seven -- four in the first three innings -- but gave up eight of his nine hits in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings against a strong Washington team.

“It’s a well-balanced lineup,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “You get to that fifth, sixth inning, it’s hard to get through it again another time. You’re looking at a pretty complete team, and it’s tough to get through them three times.”

That was Floyd’s problem. Bryce Harper crushed Floyd’s first pitch of the fourth inning halfway into the second deck in right for a game-tying homer. Danny Espinosa gave Washington the lead for good at 2-1 later in the inning with an RBI single.

The Nationals banged out three straight hits in the fifth, the last being Ryan Zimmerman’s RBI single for a 3-1 lead. Alex Rios’ RBI grounder cut it to 3-2 in the sixth, but the Nationals got to Floyd (0-2) one final time in the bottom half, scoring twice more on three hits, two off of him before Ventura pulled the right-hander.

“I thought I made pretty good pitches,” Floyd said. “I felt pretty good out there. Early on, I was kind of cruising, and then [it was] kind of one hit after the other. They have a very good lineup, one through eight.”

Floyd enjoyed pitching close to home. He’s originally from Annapolis, Md., less than an hour’s drive away, and Floyd was looking forward to seeing his parents after the game.

“It’s definitely special when you come back near home so you can have some time together,” Floyd said. “It’s like any other game, [but you] just enjoy it and the times you’re here.”

WASHINGTON -- Danny Espinosa drove in two runs, and starter Jordan Zimmermann allowed two runs in seven solid innings as the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Adam Dunn and Alex Rios each drove in a run for Chicago.

How it happened: The White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first inning for the second straight night, but couldn’t do much after that. Starter Gavin Floyd began the game well, but the Nationals got to him the second and third times through the order. Floyd blanked Washington in the first three innings, striking out four while doing it. But the Nationals scored five in the next three innings, and he left after 5 1/3. Dunn and Alex Rios each had RBI groundouts, but Chicago couldn’t do anything else. Zimmermann (2-0) gave up the two runs and scattered seven hits in seven innings.

What it means: The home runs have been coming often. But when they don’t, the White Sox don’t seem to find much offense this season. There were no homers in this game, and Chicago now has needed homers to score 20 of its 31 runs. Alex Rios' homer streak ended at four games, one short of the team record. The homer numbers are good, but if you live by the round-trippers, you often die by them, too.

Outside the box: The White Sox again found trouble in the middle innings. Washington’s potent lineup scored a total of six runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings of Tuesday’s win, and the Nationals used the same formula Wednesday night. Floyd got touched up for all five of his runs during those same three innings to put the Sox in a hole they couldn’t climb out of.

Off beat: Extra-base hits are becoming a problem for Floyd. He allowed only four hits in a six-inning effort in his first start against the Kansas City Royals, but two of them were for extra bases. Then, in Wednesday’s loss in Washington, Floyd allowed nine hits in 5 1/3 innings, and five of them went for extra bases. The Nationals banged out three doubles, a triple and a homer to help score five runs off the tall right-hander.

Up next: The White Sox wrap up their three-game interleague series with the Nationals on Thursday, when right-hander Dylan Axelrod (0-0, 0.00) takes on Washington right-hander Dan Haren (0-1, 13.50) as Chicago tries to prevent a sweep.

WASHINGTON -- At this point, not much is clear regarding Gordon Beckham and his injured wrist. But here's one thing the White Sox and the infielder do know -- the next few days will give them a better look at whether Beckham can return quickly or will head for the DL.

Beckham left Tuesday's series opener in the third inning due to nerve irritation in his left wrist, an injury that happened when he swung at a 2-1 pitch from Washington starter Gio Gonzalez. A day later, Beckham said he's taken anti-inflammatories and been undergoing lots of treatment, but still doesn't know the final answer.

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WASHINGTON -- Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham immediately knew there was a problem with his left wrist after taking a swing against Washington Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez in the second inning of Tuesday night's interleague game.

Beckham finished the at-bat by striking out and was immediately removed from the game by manager Robin Ventura. Trainers ruled that Beckham has nerve irritation in his left wrist and listed him as day-to-day.

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WASHINGTON -- Chicago White Sox starter Jake Peavy stood in front of his locker and took full accountability for his team's 8-7 loss to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.

Peavy was effective through the first five innings, allowing just two runs, including a homer to Ian Desmond in the fifth. The game unravelled for Peavy in the sixth when he gave up two-run homers to both Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche that ultimately decided the outcome.

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