Despite the absence of their top slugger, the Chicago White Sox have performed well at the plate in their two games against the Kansas City Royals.
Another strong showing could lead the White Sox to their second sweep in their last three visits to Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday night.
Chicago produced another 7-6 win over Kansas City on Tuesday, but only had to rally from an early one-run deficit after coming back from five runs down in Monday's opener.
Adam Dunn provided enough cushion with a three-run homer in the eighth inning, while Gordon Beckham and Conor Gillaspie each had three hits and two runs scored.
The White Sox have totaled 23 hits in their last two games in Kansas City even with Jose Abreu on the disabled list due to an ailing left ankle. An MRI on Monday showed no ligament damage, and the MLB home run leader is expected to spend a couple of days in a walking boot before being re-evaluated Thursday when the team returns home to Chicago.
"Obviously, he's really good," Dunn said of Abreu. "I think Paul (Konerko) and I hopefully can put some runs on the board."
The White Sox (23-24) will seek their 10th win in 13 games at Kauffman while trying to move back to .500 for the first time since May 10. They swept a three-game series at the Royals from Aug. 20-22.
FOX Sports Kansas City coverage of the White Sox-Royals game begins at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with Royals Live.
Jose Quintana (2-3, 3.67 ERA) will try to contribute to another sweep while building on his first win in seven starts, a 7-2 victory in Houston on Friday. The left-hander gave up two runs over five innings and got four runs of support after receiving 10 combined in his previous six outings.
"He's notorious for coming out with a no-decision, so it was nice for us to get some runs ... and get him a win, because he's done a lot of work for us that doesn't go in the win column," manager Robin Ventura said.
Quintana is 0-3 with a 4.11 ERA in eight career starts against the Royals and suffered a 4-1 loss in his most recent matchup Sept. 29, giving up four runs in seven innings.
Quintana will pitch opposite a struggling Jeremy Guthrie (2-3, 4.76). The right-hander is 0-3 with a 5.09 ERA in his last seven starts and has given up a combined 11 runs in his past two, covering 12 2/3 innings.
He lasted eight innings Friday against Baltimore while taking the loss in a 4-0 defeat, giving up four runs and eight hits.
"I didn't really give us a chance to win," he said.
Guthrie is 5-2 with a 2.60 ERA in his last 10 starts versus the White Sox and has claimed wins in each of the past two. He gave up four runs, seven hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings April 4 but got enough support for a 7-5 home victory.
Mike Moustakas is 8 for 19 (.421) with two homers lifetime against Quintana, but he's hitting .152 this season and is 1 for 13 in his last five games.
