SAN FRANCISCO -- Johnny Cueto strutted off the mound, tucked his cap and glove under his left arm, and looked up at the crowd. For a second, he soaked in a standing ovation, smiling and giving a thumbs up as he approached the dugout steps.
Cueto's first inning on a big league mound since last July had been perfect. The rest of his night was, too.
Cueto allowed just one hit and struck out four before hitting his pitch count after five innings, baffling the Pirates with a familiar mix of pinpoint control, darting changeups and sliders, and the occasional shimmy.
Cueto was all smiles throughout the night, which started at 6:14 p.m. when he walked slowly out to the left field grass to begin warming up. Thirteen months of rehab finally behind him, Cueto briefly looked up as fans filing into Oracle Park gave him the first of several standing ovations.
He retired the side in the first, getting rookie star Bryan Reynolds on a tight slider. Jose Osuna watched a fastball go by for the second strikeout, which was part of a perfect second inning. Cueto allowed his lone hit in the third, a flare from Kevin Kramer that just got past Mauricio Dubon's glove and landed in right field. He would retire the final seven batters he faced, getting two more strikeouts on changeups.
The Giants have missed all of this: pic.twitter.com/FNkHWig3c5— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) September 11, 2019
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Cueto threw 69 pitches, 43 of which were strikes. His fastball maxed out at 93.4 mph and averaged 91.3. In 2017, his last healthy season, he also averaged 91.3 mph.
