Joe Kelly noticed how beginning pitcher Johnny Cueto was progressing at Triple-A Charlotte whereas the Chicago White Sox reliever was on a rehab task.
He gave a constructive overview.
“Johnny Cueto looked good,” Kelly mentioned final week. “Johnny’s a great dude. He messes up hitters with timing, multiple looks, leg kicks, slide steps. Johnny does it to try to get guys off balance and he’s a master at it. He was commanding all of his pitches for strikes.”
Cueto joined the Sox in Kansas City and began Monday’s sport in opposition to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium after the group bought his contract from Charlotte. He was terrific in his Sox debut, permitting two hits in six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Cueto didn’t determine within the choice after the Royals tied the sport with three runs off Kendall Graveman within the eighth. But Luis Robert hit a two-run homer within the tenth and Liam Hendriks struck out the aspect for a 5-3 Sox victory.
It didn’t take lengthy for Cueto to impress as he struck out the aspect within the first. He retired the primary 9 batters — putting out 5 — earlier than surrendering a single to Whit Merrifield to start the fourth.
He wrapped up his outing by putting out Salvador Perez with two on to finish the sixth.
“He’s had a really impressive career,” Sox supervisor Tony La Russa mentioned earlier than the sport. “He pitches with some style. … We’ve gone against him (when La Russa managed the St. Louis Cardinals) and he gives you this and he gives you that and then vice versa.”
The 36-year-old Cueto went 0-1 with a 5.17 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 4 begins with Charlotte after signing with the Sox as a minor-league free agent April 8.
“The road games were not his forte,” Kelly mentioned, “simply because the umpires — I’m not going to say they weren’t prepared for Johnny, however after I watched him pitch with the automated strike zone? Pfft. Good luck. He may dot.
“Some umpires surrender on a number of the methods his balls transfer, and so they transfer a ton. So when he’s flipping pitches and so they’re strikes within the strike zone however the umpire thinks it runs off, that may get him into bother.
“But these guys up here, big-league umpires, they know that. They know Johnny, they know how it moves. He looks great. He’s definitely going to help us this year.”
Cueto is 135-97 with a 3.45 ERA in 330 appearances (329 begins) throughout a 14-year profession with the Cincinnati Reds (2008-15), Royals (2015) and San Francisco Giants (2016-21).
The right-hander is a two-time All-Star (2014, 2016), completed second in National League Cy Young Award voting in 2014 and is 2-4 with a 4.54 ERA in eight profession postseason begins. He made 4 begins within the 2015 postseason with the World Series champion Royals.
“I said hello to him and then I told him I still feel the effects of Game 5 in the 2015 (American League) Division Series,” Sox starter Dallas Keuchel mentioned Monday. “He stuck it to us pretty good (when I was) with the (Houston) Astros and he got traded over to the Royals.”
Cueto allowed two runs on two hits and struck out eight in that playoff sport on Oct. 14, 2015, a 7-2 Royals win.
“He’s one of the best to do it for over a decade,” Keuchel mentioned, “and it’ll be nice to watch him on (our) side now.”
Cueto went 7-7 with a 4.08 ERA in 22 outings (21 begins) for the Giants in 2021.
Lucas Giolito was initially scheduled to pitch Monday, however he was positioned on the COVID-19-related injured listing Friday. Giolito started experiencing signs Wednesday.
“The good part of it is all the signs are looking up on (Giolito),” La Russa mentioned. “He’ll pitch in the series, whether it’s (Tuesday) or make an adjustment for Wednesday. That’s the good news. We’re going to wait and see.”
La Russa mentioned Dylan Cease will begin the primary sport of Tuesday’s doubleheader. Game 2 is to be decided. Vince Velasquez and Keuchel are the possible Sox starters Wednesday and Thursday.
Cueto is predicted to be an element within the rotation going ahead.
“We would be disappointed if he’s not,” La Russa mentioned. “And we don’t expect to be disappointed. He’s done enough since he’s reported to Arizona (for extended spring training) and what he’s shown in Charlotte (that) we expect him to be helpful.”
In Monday’s corresponding roster transfer, the Sox optioned infielder Danny Mendick to Charlotte. Mendick is 5-for-23 (.217) with two doubles, one house run and three RBIs in 11 video games throughout two stints with the Sox this season.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com