SAN FRANCISCO – In many ways, Johnny Cueto was the easy choice to start the Giants’ home opener in 2021. An artist on the hill, he works best for an audience that set the stage for a memorable Friday afternoon at Oracle Park.
The always entertaining Cueto threw 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball, and Brandon Crawford added a go-ahead, two-run double to take the Giants to a 3-1 victory over the Rockies in their first game for their fans in San Francisco since September 29, 2019.
Cueto gave up only four basehits, struckout seven and walked one batter in his longest outing since 2016, becoming the first Giants-starter to make a winning decision this year.
“I thought it was as good a performance as I’ve seen Johnny pitch,” said Giants manager Gabe Kapler. “Just have complete control over every situation. Perfectly synchronized with [catcher] Buster [Posey]Just an excellent, brave, efficient performance. ”
Cueto found himself locked in a pitching duel for most of the afternoon with Rockies lefthanded Austin Gomber, who thwarted San Francisco for six innings before Crawford finally broke the scoreless tie.
After only one hit and two walks through the first six innings against Gomber, the Giants were able to chase the 27-year old lefthanded in the bottom of the seventh when he walked Darin Ruf and Buster Posey with one out. Rockies-manager Bud Black then brought in righthanded Tyler Kinley, who again walked pinch-hitter Alex Dickerson to load the bases.
That brought up Crawford, who hit a 1-2-slider by Kinley into the hole in the right midfield to score two runs and give the Giants their first lead of the afternoon.
“It was absolutely special,” said Crawford. “Just being outside with fans back in the crowd, being home again and scoring a big hit in a big situation. It was all pretty special, and it was a lot of fun. “
Cueto shutout the ninth inning, but he gave up a leadoff triple to Chris Owings, who scored on a sacrifice fly to narrow the Giants’ lead to 3-1. Kapler then ran to the hill to check on Cueto, drawing boo from fans eager to see the 35-year-old veteran play a full game.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been booed, I promise you,” Kapler said, laughing. “I understand. The fans wanted to see Johnny finish that game. I wanted to see Johnny finish that game. Everyone in the dugout wanted to see Johnny finish that game.”
Kapler had closer Jake McGee ready to go into the bullpen, but he decided to stay with Cueto and give him a chance to record the last two outs of the game.
“He asked me how I was feeling, and I told him I was feeling good,” Cueto said in Spanish. He told me he had his closing ready, and he spoke to Posey, who told me to get the ball and keep going. [First baseman Brandon] Belt said the same thing, so I went back up the hill. ”
Cueto retired Ryan McMahon on a flyout, but he then gave up a single to Trevor Story on his 118th pitch, prompting Kapler to bring in McGee, who eliminated Sam Hilliard on three pitches to end the game.
Giant starters have now pitched at least five innings and conceded no more than three runs in each of the club’s first seven games, lowering the starting staff’s ERA to 2.28 in the season. Cueto’s start is particularly encouraging, as he registered a 5.40 ERA in his career in 2020, his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. He wants to recover when he enters the last guaranteed year of his contract with the Giants.
“This was one of my best starts since late, because I didn’t go very well last year,” said Cueto. “I will continue to work as I normally do. There’s still a lot of baseball left, so I just have to keep doing what I’m doing. ”
After his season debut in Seattle last week, Cueto said he is looking forward to playing in front of fans again as he feeds on the energy of the audience during his performances. It turned out on Friday afternoon, when Cueto used his signature shimmies – including a triple shimmy to knock out CJ Cron to finish seventh – to disrupt the timing of the hitters on the record and provide quality entertainment for the fans.
“I think Johnny has a bit of an entertainer aspect, and I think that’s a good thing because he supports it,” said Black. ‘I think he likes being out there. I think he likes the big stage. He was animated. I think the most important thing is that he throws and that he competes. He knows what his job is, and I’m fine with him doing it with a little flair. “