Cueto relieved by outing
Giants pitchers are throwing so many minor-league rehab games they might qualify for the Pacific Coast League and California League leaderboards.
No game was more significant than Johnny Cueto’s in Sacramento on Saturday night because of his injury. Cueto threw 48 pitches over 32⁄3 innings and reported no pain Sunday morning from his partially torn ulnar-collateral ligament.
Cueto said he was sure when he got hurt he would need Tommy John surgery. Manager Bruce Bochy said Sunday the medical staff was leaning that way before Dr. James Andrews provided a second opinion that the tear was not significant enough to require surgery. Andrews recommended rest and rehab.
“That’s why you take time, get different opinions and let things calm down,” Bochy said.
Cueto faced the Padres’ Triple-A team and allowed one hit
on a slow roller to short. He had no walks and struck out four, surprising Bochy with his stuff and command while pitching for the first time in nearly two months.
Cueto said the outing was a relief. “Now that I’ve pitched, I’m more relaxed and I can go out there and do another rehab and hopefully contribute to this team,” Cueto said through interpreter Erwin Higueros.
Cueto might need a mediator more than an interpreter. He said he wants to be activated after one more rehab game. The club is leaning toward two. There is recent precedent for two rehab games (Madison Bumgarner) and three (Jeff Samardzija).
Either way, Bochy is eager to see Cueto back on the mound.
“When Johnny went down, I thought he was the best pitcher in baseball,” Bochy said.
Sunday’s game: The Giants’ 11th-inning rally spared them yet another loss caused by a leadoff walk, this one by Reyes Moronta to Manuel Margot. Moronta got two outs but also threw a wild pitch that got Margot to third. Cory Spangenberg then lashed an RBI single off the glove of a diving first baseman Brandon Belt to give the Padres a 2-1 lead.
The scoring over the first 10 innings came on Margot’s homer to start the game off Dereck Rodriguez, and Gorkys Hernandez’s homer to start the sixth against lefty Eric Lauer.
Rodriguez had his longest and best of his five big-league starts. He held San Diego to three additional hits over seven innings.
Getting here: The Padres’ team bus did not show at their hotel Sunday morning, so their traveling secretary flagged a doubledeck tour bus and negotiated a price with the driver. The team hopped aboard and rode to AT&T Park.