05-05-2012, 12:20 AM
PITTSBURGH â Johnny Cueto didnât feel very good at the start of Fridayâs game.
He came into dugout and got a little advice from Bronson Arroyo, as well as some Aleve.
It worked wonders.
Cueto threw a complete game, the fifth of his career, to lift the Reds over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 before a crowd of 20,445 at PNC Park. He allowed seven hits, walked none and struck out four. He raised his record to 4-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.31.
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âI was really struggling,â he said. âThe heat was getting to me. It was hot. Bronson told me a couple of things and got me going.â
Cueto was the story. But the offense pounded out 12 hits, including a season-high eight for extra bases. Zack Cozart, Drew Stubbs and Jay Bruce all homered. Cozart, Stubbs, Bruce, Chris Heisey and Ryan Hanigan all had two hits.
The Reds are 13-12 â back over .500 for the first time since they were 2-1.
Cueto did not win his fourth game until June 14 last year.
âThis guy works hard,â Reds manager Dusty Baker said. âHe probably runs more than anyone on our team. Heâs learned how to work, how to get his endurance up. And he controls his emotions. Early in his career, he always had that one bad inning when his emotions would get out of whack. Now, heâs learned to settle himself down.â
Cueto was intent on finishing the game. He needed 110 pitches. But he was still throwing 94 mph in the ninth.
âThis is what I want,â he said. âI donât want this to be the last one. I want to keep throwing complete game, complete game. It feels good. A lot of my pitches were landing where I wanted.â
The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the second. Bruce doubled with one out and went to third on Scott Rolenâs groundout. Heisey followed with a perfect bunt for an RBI single.
âThat was heads-up play,â Baker said. âYou catch everybody off guard.â
The Reds added a run in the fourth. Heisey tripled with two outs. The ball hit off the top of wall in left. The umpires checked the video at Bakerâs request and upheld the call. The Pirates pitched to Hanigan with Cueto on deck. He lined a double into left to make it 2-0.
The Pirates came back in the bottom of the fourth. Nate McLouth led off with a single. Neil Walker singled, sending McLouth to third. Pedro Alvarez got Walker in with sacrifice fly to left. An out later, Clint Barmes doubled down the line. Walker tried to score from first but the Heisey-to-Cozart-to-Hanigan relay easily beat him to the plate.
âThat was a key moment in the game,â Baker said. âThat would have tied the score. That inning they were first-ball hitting and hitting (Cueto) pretty good. We got out that inning.â
Cueto got better as the game wore on.
âWe managed the innings when he wasnât as sharp,â Hanigan said. âThen the last three innings, he was just on point. ... He was strong as you can be.â
That goes beyond throwing hard.
âI donât always evaluate on velocity,â Hanigan said. âJust in terms of the location of his breaking ball, getting his change-up down, throwing to both sides of the plate. He locked in it.âhttp://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...|text|Reds
He came into dugout and got a little advice from Bronson Arroyo, as well as some Aleve.
It worked wonders.
Cueto threw a complete game, the fifth of his career, to lift the Reds over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 before a crowd of 20,445 at PNC Park. He allowed seven hits, walked none and struck out four. He raised his record to 4-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.31.
⢠Box score
⢠John Fay's Reds blog
⢠Follow John Fay on Twitter
⢠More news from Redleg Nation
âI was really struggling,â he said. âThe heat was getting to me. It was hot. Bronson told me a couple of things and got me going.â
Cueto was the story. But the offense pounded out 12 hits, including a season-high eight for extra bases. Zack Cozart, Drew Stubbs and Jay Bruce all homered. Cozart, Stubbs, Bruce, Chris Heisey and Ryan Hanigan all had two hits.
The Reds are 13-12 â back over .500 for the first time since they were 2-1.
Cueto did not win his fourth game until June 14 last year.
âThis guy works hard,â Reds manager Dusty Baker said. âHe probably runs more than anyone on our team. Heâs learned how to work, how to get his endurance up. And he controls his emotions. Early in his career, he always had that one bad inning when his emotions would get out of whack. Now, heâs learned to settle himself down.â
Cueto was intent on finishing the game. He needed 110 pitches. But he was still throwing 94 mph in the ninth.
âThis is what I want,â he said. âI donât want this to be the last one. I want to keep throwing complete game, complete game. It feels good. A lot of my pitches were landing where I wanted.â
The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the second. Bruce doubled with one out and went to third on Scott Rolenâs groundout. Heisey followed with a perfect bunt for an RBI single.
âThat was heads-up play,â Baker said. âYou catch everybody off guard.â
The Reds added a run in the fourth. Heisey tripled with two outs. The ball hit off the top of wall in left. The umpires checked the video at Bakerâs request and upheld the call. The Pirates pitched to Hanigan with Cueto on deck. He lined a double into left to make it 2-0.
The Pirates came back in the bottom of the fourth. Nate McLouth led off with a single. Neil Walker singled, sending McLouth to third. Pedro Alvarez got Walker in with sacrifice fly to left. An out later, Clint Barmes doubled down the line. Walker tried to score from first but the Heisey-to-Cozart-to-Hanigan relay easily beat him to the plate.
âThat was a key moment in the game,â Baker said. âThat would have tied the score. That inning they were first-ball hitting and hitting (Cueto) pretty good. We got out that inning.â
Cueto got better as the game wore on.
âWe managed the innings when he wasnât as sharp,â Hanigan said. âThen the last three innings, he was just on point. ... He was strong as you can be.â
That goes beyond throwing hard.
âI donât always evaluate on velocity,â Hanigan said. âJust in terms of the location of his breaking ball, getting his change-up down, throwing to both sides of the plate. He locked in it.âhttp://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...|text|Reds