The Giants need Johnny Cueto to regain his first-half form

The San Francisco Giants made a splash at the trade deadline by acquiring starting pitcher Matt Moore from the Tampa Bay Rays and reliever Will Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers. Both moves seem to fill holes in San Francisco’s roster as it aims for its fourth World Series in seven seasons. Even if Smith wasn’t all that fresh in his Giants debut.

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What the Giants also need is Johnny Cueto to start pitching like he did early in the season. Cueto started the All-Star game (albeit for a injury-riddled NL roster) and was one of the reasons the Giants surged to the top of the NL West standings.

Recently, though? He hasn’t been great. He’s given up three or more earned runs in three of his last six starts, after doing so only three times in his previous 15 starts. Add a fourth to that list, if you count the three runs he gave up in the All-Star game.

Let’s all see which Cueto shows Wednesday when he starts for the Giants against the Philadelphia Phillies. It’s the MLB Free Game of the Day on Yahoo Sports, which means you can stream the game for F-R-E-E on the Yahoo Sports app, Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home or this very post. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. Local blackouts apply, per MLB rules.

Is Johnny Cueto headed for another second-half fade? (AP)

Cueto’s overall numbers are still fine. He’s 13-3 with a 2.63 ERA. Any team will take that. But given Cueto’s history of going through rough stretches (you know what we mean, Royals fans), the Giants have to hope this is just a temporary downturn and not something that will extend further into the second half. Last season, Cueto had a 2.73 ERA before the All-Star break, but followed that with a 4.34 ERA.

In two of his three starts after the All-Star game this season, he’s only lasted five innings. In the middle of those, Cueto turned in a fine start against the Mets, giving up one run in six innings and striking out nine. So it’s not like he turned into a complete dumpster fire overnight.

But the Giants gave up a lot in those trades to boost their pitching staff for the stretch run, namely third baseman Matt Duffy. Without the best version of Cueto, their road to the postseason looks quite a bit bumpier.