Stratton takes loss as Cueto scratched
DETROIT — Once the calendar turns to July, baseball’s silly season begins. Every loud sneeze is interpreted as a sign that a player might be traded, is being traded or already has a first-class seat on a flight out of town.
So it must be stated firmly that Johnny Cueto really was sick Thursday. He was not scratched 36 minutes before the first pitch because the Giants had a deal to make him an Astro or a Yankee. He has had an inner-ear infection for a few days and got dizzy as he started to prep for the Tigers.
Chris Stratton made his first big-league start in place of Cueto, got ambushed for five runs in the first three innings, and then
pitched into the seventh to save the bullpen in a 6-2 loss.
Growing up in Tupelo, Miss., (oddly not an Elvis fan) Stratton daydreamed about starting a game in the majors. None of those images had the pitching coach tapping him on the shoulder so soon before the game and saying, “Hey, buddy, Justin Upton, Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez … go get ’em.”
“It was definitely different,” Stratton said. “It was a dream come true to come here and compete. I did the best job I could to go deep into the game.”
Stratton’s reward likely will be a trip back to Triple-A Sacramento. He threw 106 pitches and will not be available during the weekend series against Miami at AT&T Park that ends the first half.
The Giants are hoping to activate third baseman Conor Gillaspie from the disabled list before Friday’s game at AT&T Park. Gillaspie could fill Stratton’s spot.
Cueto’s first half is not necessarily over. The Giants plan to see how he feels Friday, so they can slot him back into the rotation against the Marlins, who are supposed to face Matt Moore, Jeff Samardzija and Matt Cain. That would be good news for scouts of contending teams that might want to deal for Cueto.
As the Giants prepared to fly home, Cueto still looked a bit green and wiped out. He said through interpreter Erwin Higueros that he was sick for three days and first felt dizzy Thursday morning.
“It wasn’t a good idea to try to pitch,” Cueto said. “I didn’t want to fall down.”
The only shame for Stratton was pitching a day after his wife, Martha Kate, flew home with their little boy, Mack, to prepare for the All-Star break.
The Giants’ 2012 first-round draft pick was texting his wife, telling her word was Cueto might not pitch, when pitching coach Dave Righetti gave him the official word.
“It was 12:34, I believe,” Stratton said. “I looked at my phone and thought, ‘I guess I better get going.’ ” The Tigers were waiting. Cabrera shot a hanging curveball through the middle for an RBI single after Stratton walked Upton with two outs in the first inning. Stratton was down 2-0 in the second when he left a sinker up to rookie Dixon Machado, who drove it over the left-field fence for his first bigleague homer and a 4-0 Tigers lead.
An Upton double and Alex Presley two-out single in the third made it 5-0, and Bochy was calculating a lot of relief innings in his head. Stratton, though, did not allow another run and lasted until he had two outs in the seventh inning of a 5-2 game. Kyle Crick got the final four outs, three by strikeout, although he allowed a run.
A Denard Span single and Joe Panik triple, followed by a Hunter Pence scoring groundball, gave the Giants their runs in the sixth against Anibal Sanchez.
The Giants’ streak of series victories ended at two, but they finished 4-2 on their first winning trip since they won three of five in Oakland and Arizona June 29 to July 3 of last year.