John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Día de La Madre was not Día de Cueto.
Johnny Cueto was not sharp in his first start off the injured list, the Giants’ pink bats could not get the timely hit and the club whiffed on a chance for a sweep of the Padres, falling 11-1 on Mother’s Day in front of 10,008 at Oracle Park on Sunday.
The Giants (20-14) dropped to 12-4 at home, still the best in the majors, and took two of three from one of their Southern California rivals, up 1.5 games in the division. Next up will be two against Texas before a road trip that begins in Pittsburgh.
In his first start off the injured list, Cueto looked like he may have benefited from a rehab assignment. After a lat strain kept him out for three and a half weeks, he returned with good velocity but not his best stuff, lasting just three innings in which he allowed five runs. It could have been seven, but center fielder Steven Duggar made a smooth dive on a sinking liner to retire opposing starter Chris Paddack with the bases loaded in the third.
Much of the Giants’ defense and bullpen gave their moms something to celebrate, but the offense was lacking in big situations.
The Giants threatened a few times against a tag-teaming Padres effort, Paddack going three scoreless before young Ryan Weathers was dominant through three. The piggybacking effort may be mirrored by the Giants if and when their rotation is at full health, as Aaron Sanchez going all-out for three innings followed by a few from Logan Webb is appealing.
The Giants left nine on base and went 1-of-8 with runners in scoring position, and that one hit came in the seventh inning with an asterisk.
Mauricio Dubon, on second after a pinch-hit double, watched Austin Slater line a single just past Dubon. The ball was not in the vicinity of any infielder, but Dubon didn’t appear to know that. He froze by the bag and then only got to third. After Mike Tauchman popped out and Mike Yastrzemski struck out, the Giants were held scoreless for another inning. Dubon has had a few baserunning miscues both this season and last, and they just keep happening.
The Giants also put two on in the first, but Brandon Belt ground into a double play; two on in the third, but Buster Posey (who extended his hitting streak to eight) struck out, as did Belt; and two on in the sixth, but it was Brandon Crawford’s turn to strike out. They finally scored in the eighth on a Crawford sacrifice fly.
The Giants struck out 10 times and walked just three. The chances loomed larger until the eighth, when the Padres put up a four-run, error-assisted inning to make it a blowout. With two on and one out, Tatis bounced a double-play ball back to Jose Alvarez, who threw into center field, and Victor Caratini came around to score. Trent Grisham then hit a two-run triple that went off Tauchman’s glove, and the Padres had broken it open. (And wide open in a two-run ninth, against, uh, Darin Ruf.)
Losses happen, but the concern of the afternoon was Cueto, who had pitched to a 1.80 ERA in his first three starts before injury set in. He was knocked around by a Padres offense that the Giants had neutralized the past two days, and he was not effective through 64 pitches.
San Diego sent seven to the plate in the second, in which Jake Cronenworth and Fernando Tatis Jr. both hit two-run shots. Wil Myers tacked on the fifth run with a third-inning single.
Rust is an easy enough explanation, but in a rotation that has had six starters performing well, each hiccup is worth noting.