Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
PHOENIX, Ariz. — The lights were on, 10,471 fans were out, the Giants were trying to hang with the Dodgers and the umpires were being awfully careful. Real baseball is almost here.
Johnny Cueto did not pitch particularly well but also didn’t get hurt, Mike Yastrzemski went 2-for-4 and got robbed of at least another hit at the wall and San Francisco fell to Los Angeles, 4-0, at Camelback Ranch on Wednesday night in a game that was more controversial than it needed to be.
Both benches were warned following Cueto and Clayton Kershaw plunking batters, and it appeared Kershaw and third-base coach Ron Wotus exchanged words after Rob Brantly was hit. There were no more fireworks, though, and no offense to speak of for the Giants against seven Dodgers pitchers.
Here are some takeaways from a game that dropped the Giants to 6-6-1 in the Cactus League:
Numbers game
Cueto didn’t have his number, but for one mostly meaningless night the Dodgers did.
The veteran righty, who was wearing a blank No. 73 — he wasn’t sure whose jersey he was wearing after he said the team forgot to pack his No. 47 — was knocked around in 2 2/3 innings of work in his second spring outing.
In 49 pitches, Cueto used his whole arsenal, though there weren’t many quick pitches and he was not rearing back, his fastball coming in about 92 mph. He hung a third-inning curveball to Justin Turner that was deposited over the left-field wall, while A.J. Pollock’s first-inning double was responsible for two runs.
Justin Turner off Johnny Cueto ⚾️? #SpringTraining #MLB pic.twitter.com/zMuk36uhv4
— GlendaleCardinals (@YotesGlendale) March 5, 2020
Cueto, after throwing two scoreless innings Friday, lasted 2 2/3 innings and surrendered four runs on three hits, a walk and a hit batter — Max Muncy on the hand. Kershaw then caught Brantley’s upper body, and both teams were warned — on March 4.
“I’ve never seen that before. I don’t understand why the umpire gave out warnings,” Cueto said in Spanish through translator Erwin Higueros.
His stuff on the mound was not overwhelming, but hiding his best stuff against the team the Giants will battle against Opening Day is sensible. Cueto is the most likely starter to step into the No. 1 role that Madison Bumgarner occupied for so many years.
“I really don’t pay too much attention to that,” Cueto said about facing Los Angeles in spring training. “It’s good that I get to face the hitters I’m going to face during the regular season. They have a very strong lineup. Eventually I’m going to face them.”
If Tyler Beede faces them, it won’t be for a long while. The Giants’ young righty is hoping to avoid surgery on his right elbow, but the team’s rotation will look differently at the start of the season regardless.
Asked how the staff is shaping up, Cueto was classic Cueto.
“I still don’t know them all, we have so many,” he said, accurately. “But from what I’ve seen of them they’re really good.”
Quick hits
— Brantly was on the field signing autographs after the game. That likely will begin to change Thursday after trainer Dave Groeschner was on a conference call with MLB on Wednesday.
According to a source, the Giants will have pre-signed balls and other items to give out to fans, careful about exchanging pens and handshakes and germs over Coronavirus fears.
— Gabe Kapler on his relationship with Cueto: “One of the things I’ve found engaging about Johnny is he likes feedback. He likes to know what you’re seeing, and that’s from our pitching coaches, myself included. I’ve really enjoyed that back and forth. … He has a lot of feedback for where we position our defenders, he has feedback for our catchers and our sequences. He’s a smart guy.”