Konerko-less Sox shut out by Blue Jays

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The South Side heat wave has cooled off.

The White Sox managed only two hits against Brandon Morrow and lost for the third time in four games, dropping a 4-0 decision to Toronto on Wednesday at U.S. Cellular Field.

The loss trimmed Chicagos lead in the AL Central over Cleveland to a 12 game in being manhandled by Morrow, who threw his AL-leading third shutout of the season and tied Justin Verlander of Detroit for the AL lead in complete games with three.

Morrow (7-3) only allowed five baserunners, including one through six innings. The only hits came on a pair of singles by A.J. Pierzynski. Other baserunners came when Adam Dunn reached on an error in the seventh and was walked in the ninth. Morrow also walked Alejandro De Aza in the ninth.

Morrow struck out five as the Jays beat Chicago for the second night in a row.

Sox rookie left-hander Jose Quintana (1-1) took the loss in his third career start. Quintana flirted with trouble in the first four innings, but some timely pitches and a couple stellar defensive plays kept the game scoreless.

The best of those defensive plays came in the second when third baseman Orlando Hudson snared a line drive by Yan Gomes that appeared destined for the left-field corner, which would have scored Kelly Johnson easily from second.

Quintana pitched himself out of trouble in the fourth, stranding runners at first and second by getting Gomes to pop out to Pierzynski in foul territory behind home plate.

Even when his luck ran out in the fifth, Quintana benefited from a good defense play as the Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead. With David Cooper at second, Colby Rasmus drove the ball into left-center field to score the run.

But Rasmus was out when he tried to stretch the hit into a double as Dayan Viciedo threw a strike to Gordon Beckham at second, easily getting Rasmus for the innings final out.

Jose Bautista gave the Jays a 2-0 lead with his 15th home run of the season, a 423-foot shot into the left field seats to open the sixth against Quintana.

Quintana was replaced by Nate Jones to start the seventh. He gave up two runs on nine hits (eight singles) with one walk and one strikeout. He also threw a wild pitch.

The Sox used three pitchers in the seventh to get out of a jam they pitched themselves into. Jones gave up two singles after striking out Gomes to start the inning. Jones then got Brett Lawrie on a pop-up to Beckham before being replaced by Will Ohman.

Ohman hit the only batter he faced -- Rasmus -- to load the bases with two outs. Jesse Crain entered and struck out Batista to squelch the threat.

The Sox finally got another base runner with one out in the seventh when Dunn reached on an error against the infield shift. That snapped a streak of 14 consecutive batters set down by Morrow.

But the Sox stranded Dunn at first as Viciedo struck out and Alex Rios hit a fly ball to the edge of the right-field warning track.

Pierzynski led off the eighth with a single, just Chicagos second hit off Morrow. But pinch-runner Brent Lillibridge was caught stealing to put a stop to any momentum that might have started.

The Jays stretched their lead in the ninth on a two-run home run by Rajai Davis, who hit a Hector Santiago pitch into the Sox bullpen.

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