Johnny Cueto Slowed Hunter Pence Down, But the Rockies Couldn't

SAN FRANCISCO - Hunter Pence walked into the dugout 30 minutes before Tuesday's game, slid his bat into the rack, and smiled. 

"I'm hitting leadoff tonight," he said, noting that it's a spot for speedsters. 

On this night, it was a spot that was slowed down. Pence kept the bat steady on a couple of big swings that led the Giants to a 4-3 win. He accompanied that with a home run jog that was one of the comedic highlights in a season sorely lacking them. 

Pence's fifth-inning blast to dead center was the go-ahead shot at the time, and Pence made his usual quick trip around first and second. When he approached third, he was confronted by a strange sight. Johnny Cueto, who had singled, turned and held his hand up. The two hit the bag a few feet apart, and Cueto practically walked home. He took 13 seconds to go the final 90 feet, and Pence - once nicknamed Full Throttle by his manager - had no choice but to follow in a power-walk of his own. 

"I was like, ‘I'm not the starting pitcher.' They expend a lot of energy - every pitch is like a sprint," Pence said. "You've got to take it easy if they tell you to take it easy."

Pence has 218 career homers. He said this was the slowest jog of his career, and that's exactly what Cueto wanted. 

"Obviously I was very happy when he hit the home run, and I just kept telling him to go ahead and slow down and enjoy the homer, because you're always running so fast," Cueto said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. 

The home run power-walk was a funny moment, but it was also instructive. Pence brings the same energy and enjoyable attitude every day. In Cueto, his neighbor in the clubhouse, he has found a similar player. He said he's hopeful that Cueto returns next season - as is expected - and noted that it's a positive trait to have fun in this kind of season. 

"That's imperative and it's extremely important to keep that passion," Pence said. "It's not just about the standings. We love competing."

Cueto showed his own fire by getting a lead into the seventh despite a soaring early pitch count. When Hunter Strickland coughed it up in the eighth, the Giants bounced right back. Pence ended the night with a sacrifice fly to center with the bases loaded. That capped a big night for him, one that left him smiling from start to finish. 

"It's always a good time when you're hitting a homer," he said. 

Perhaps that's why Cueto forced him to soak it all in.

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