SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants put the finishing touches on a 5-1 home run and secured their third straight win in a row, a 3-0 victory over the Reds on Wednesday afternoon at Oracle Park, but the good vibes were dampened after the right Johnny Cueto was forced out in the sixth inning with a tight back.
Cueto crossed 5 innings without a 2/3 score and blew Nick Castellanos with a 93.5 mph fastball for the fourth shot of the afternoon, but made a face after throwing the field and immediately signaled to receiver Curt Casali that it’s over. Athletic coach Dave Groeschner and manager Gabe Kapler quickly went out to check on Cueto, who later left the field after throwing only 68 pitches.
“They were fighting something in the first part of the game, but I don’t know exactly which side,” Casali said. “It simply came to our notice then. I thought he was doing well. Maybe he changed something to compensate for another part of his body. You never want to see that, especially when cruising like that. Let’s hope he doesn’t miss a start and, if he does, let’s hope it’s not too, too long “.
Cueto was due to undergo an MRI examination after the match, raising questions about how his injury will affect the Giants’ rotation plans. The 35-year-old veteran dominated in his first three starts of the year, recording an ERA of 1.80 over 20 innings and appeared on his way back from a disappointing 2020 campaign when he recorded an ERA of 5.40 over 12 starts. .
Cueto showed that he had a long way to go in the tank by shooting 8 innings of 2/3 of balls with a single run in the opening of the Giants’ home on Friday and it seemed that he took the place where he left on Wednesday. He overtook Reds’ right-hander Tyler Mahle and held his former club just three strokes before leaving with a 2-0 lead.
“I think every time someone has to leave the field for any reason, I will always be worried,” Kapler said. “In this case, Johnny threw the ball so well. We all had visions at the head of that other beginning of the Johnny Cueto game. He simply seemed remarkable and totally in control. ”
The Giants Bullpen led the club the rest of the way, with Caleb Baragar, Logan Webb, Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee combining 3 scoreless innings to close out the victory. Before the match, Kapler announced that Webb would move to the bullpen to open a place for left-handed Alex Wood in rotation, but Webb could eventually return to a starting role if Cueto gets to the injured list.
“It’s hard to lose him in this game,” Kapler said of Cueto. “Finally, if they have to be away for a while, these are shoes that will be hard to fill. We will do what we always do, which is a step up for each other. ”
Mahle didn’t allow a shot in his first four innings, but the Giants finally got into the fifth when Austin Slater drilled a double into the center-right goal to score Brandon Crawford from the first and give San Francisco leads 1-0. Slater then advanced to third place with a past ball and scored from there on a Casali helicopter to bring home an insurance race for the Giants.
At 8-4, the Giants will enjoy a Thursday before the start of the second road trip of the year to Miami and Philadelphia.
“I think it was very, very fun to be a part of it so far,” Casali said. “It is difficult to make a good start in the big leagues. I think it’s really important to get out of this momentum, that we have to create a certain separation and stay above .500 and have a winning ball club. As children say, we vibrate. ”