HOUSTON -- Chicago White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana has been victimized by a lack of run support so often that it was difficult to assess his performances without mentioning how infrequently his teammates scored on his behalf while he was on the mound doing his handiwork.

Quintana dazzled for seven innings and the White Sox won their fourth consecutive series by scoring enough to claim the rubber match against the Houston Astros 4-1 on Sunday at Minute Maid Park.

Quintana (6-8) limited the Astros (43-39) to two hits and two walks while recording four strikeouts. He surrendered a leadoff homer to Astros right fielder George Springer in the first inning and pitched around traffic in the third before retiring the final 15 batters he faced.

"It's awesome," Quintana said. "Every time I put the best effort on the field. I feel really good. We take the series. It's really important for us. Come back home winning this series is a good moment. Try to keep going, keep winning series."

The White Sox (42-40) had supplied Quintana with one run of support or less eight times over his last nine starts. They scored twice in the third inning off Astros right-hander Collin McHugh (5-6) before tacking on insurance runs in the eighth with timely hits and smart baserunning.

The third inning proved pivotal for the White Sox, who capitalized on the same opportunity Houston squandered in the bottom of the frame.

J.B. Shuck (walk) and Tim Anderson (double) reached to open the third for Chicago, with both scoring in succession when Adam Eaton and Jose Abreu tallied a run-scoring groundout and RBI single, respectively.

Jason Castro recorded the final hit off Quintana with his leadoff double in the third, and Springer followed with a walk to set the table for the heart of the Astros order. But Quintana rallied to strike out Marwin Gonzalez, who twice failed to lay down a sacrifice bunt, and then induced fly balls to center from Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa.

"He just pitched great," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said of Quintana. "I thought this was as locked in as he's been for a while and it was nice to see. We ended up getting some runs for him, enough for him."

Quintana breezed from there, encountering a measure of drama with two outs in the seventh when he threw behind Astros designated hitter Evan Gattis to prompt plate umpire Ryan Blakney to warn both benches.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch protested that decision and was quickly ejected. Quintana recovered to strike out Gattis to complete his outing.

"The fact that they didn't do it (eject Quintana) and allowed him to stay in the game and dot the next pitch to Gattis inside and dot the next pitch to Gattis down and away and then get him out with a breaking ball below the zone (is wrong)," Hinch said. "This guy made his pitches all day and the one he intended for behind him, he made that pitch too."

The White Sox strung together three successive hits off Astros right-hander Chris Devenski to open the eighth, with pinch runner Tyler Saladino adding a stolen base to position himself to score when Brett Lawrie singled to center field. Lawrie took second when Carlos Gomez uncorked an errant throw to the plate and later scored when Dioner Navarro lined a single to the left-center field gap to a three-run lead.

McHugh allowed two runs on five hits and four walks with nine strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. The Astros dropped their first home series since late May. They had won five consecutive series overall.

"I don't put a whole lot of stock in momentum," McHugh said. "We want to win series, that's our thing. So obviously today is disappointing. We had a chance to come and win another series, I think it was going to be five or six in a row and we weren't able to do it."

NOTES: Astros 1B A.J. Reed was in the starting lineup against White Sox LHP Jose Quintana even though he is a left-handed hitter. Astros manager A.J. Hinch spoke of the club's commitment to their rookie slugger as an everyday player, a position that includes Reed facing tough southpaws throughout the league. ... Chicago LHP Chris Sale leads the American League in wins (14), complete games (three), and WHIP (0.98) and is seeking to become the first White Sox pitcher to make five consecutive All-Star teams. ... White Sox 1B Justin Morneau is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Monday. Morneau signed with the White Sox on June 9 and is recovering from left elbow primary flexor surgery. Morneau had been with the club recently taking batting practice but he last played in a game on Oct. 4 with the Rockies.