Johnny Cueto looks to keep Giants rolling against Cardinals
The San Francisco Giants are the hottest team in baseball, having won 17 of their last 21 games, and they roll into St. Louis to start a series with the Cardinals.
The Giants’ recent run has been fueled by their starting pitching, particularly Johnny Cueto, Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija, and it’s Cueto’s turn to take to the mound Friday night in a matchup against Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright. First pitch is set for 8:15 ET and you can watch the game on Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home.
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Just how good have Cueto, Bumgarner and Samardzija been this season? They rank fourth, eighth and 15th, respectively, among qualified major-league pitchers in fWAR and have a combined 22-6 record through 34 starts. The trio’s success has helped compensate for the early struggles of Jake Peavy and Matt Cain.
San Francisco’s offseason investment in Cueto (six years, $130 million) and Samardzija (five years, $90 million) on the free agent market have sure paid off to this point. The team looks like a World Series contender, which shouldn’t come as any surprise as it is an even-numbered year, after all.
Cueto is especially familiar with the Cardinals from him time pitching in the Nationa League Central with the Cincinnati Reds, and he may not be too happy to see them again. In 20 career starts against St. Louis, he is 5-8 with a 4.08 ERA. Half of those starts have come at Busch Stadium, where Cueto’s ERA is 5.71 and he hasn’t won a game there since 2010.
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Will Cueto’s history in St. Louis be a factor on Friday, or will he be able to shut down the Cardinals now that he’s wearing a Giants uniform?
So far this year Cueto’s had very little trouble with anyone who he’s pitched against, so here’s his shot to put down a team that’s been his nemesis in the past and keep San Francisco on a winning path.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
