Johnny Cueto dazzles in front of big crowd, Giants beat A's

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Johnny Cueto took the mound in his absolute element — a big, loud crowd back filling the ballpark seats again at last for a local rivalry game.

“When I looked around I felt really good,” Cueto said. “Seeing the fans supporting us makes me happy.”

And that energy fueled Cueto as he outdueled Sean Manaea, leading the San Francisco Giants over the Oakland Athletics 2-0 in the Bay Bridge Series opener Friday night.

“He’s a showman, he loves the spotlight, he loves the big stage,” manager Gabe Kapler said before the game. “The one thing we know about Johnny, every time he goes out there he’s entertaining.”

Curt Casali, a last-minute addition in place of ailing Buster Posey, does his job with little fanfare but it's plenty meaningful, too. He homered in the seventh to greet A's reliever Cam Bedrosian after speeding up his pregame prep with Cueto.

“It worked out,” Casali said.

Kapler appreciated Casali's poise, noting, "and that home run was huge, it was a big separator for us.”

With San Francisco leading the NL West, the Giants welcomed back a full-capacity crowd at Oracle Park for this rivalry series that is always a top attraction, and the game drew 36,928 fans. The famous Gilroy Garlic Fries stand had a steady line all night that reached back close to a quarter-mile.

And who better to pitch for the Giants on this special occasion than the dymanic right-hander Cueto (6-3) — always ready to have some fun on the mound. He gave up five hits over seven scoreless innings, struck out six and walked one.

Manaea (6-4) struck out seven and walked three, allowed one run on three hits over six innings, and also had a pair of hits.

“I love to hit,” he said. “It's a lot of fun.”

He doubled in the third for his...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Johnny-Cueto-dazzles-in-front-of-big-crowd-16275833.php