The Giants won, but
Cueto did not allow a hit through his first five innings, and he opened the sixth by inducing a routine fly ball off the bat of Kiké Hernández. But Pence, who was making only his third start of the year in left field, appeared to lose the ball in the twilight, allowing it to fall for a leadoff triple. Austin Barnes followed with a groundout to knock in Hernández from third and cut the Giants’ lead to 5-1. \n\n“It’s part of the game,” Cueto said in Spanish. “My teammate, Pence, lost the ball. Those things happen. ... I know he felt really bad.” \n\nHernández’s fly ball had a catch probability of 99 percent and an expected batting average of .060, according to Statcast. \n
\n\nOn the "triple" that ended Johnny Cueto's no-hitter when Hunter Pence lost it in the twilight...
— David Adler (@_dadler) August 9, 2020
Kiké had an .060 xBA.
The ball was in the air for 6.7 seconds.
Pence had a 99% catch probability. pic.twitter.com/yPL1hHIJII
\"Johnny had the magic going,” Pence said. “He had the rhythm going. He had everything working. It was one of those special nights that doesn't always come around. You could just feel it. To spoil that feels absolutely awful.\"\n\nThe inning further unraveled for Cueto, who walked Joc Pederson before drawing a mound visit from head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner. Cueto was dealing with a blister on his right big toe, but he convinced the Giants to leave him in the game after throwing a few warmup tosses.
\n\nEven when you miss the mark there is beauty in your teammates backing you up and supporting you pic.twitter.com/TQwSDe7dhy
— Hunter Pence (@hunterpence) August 9, 2020
“Our first obligation is to Johnny there and making sure he’s healthy and strong,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “The ball was coming out good. He was able to demonstrate that he could throw off the mound. He certainly let us know that he wanted that opportunity. He had earned it, and he was the right man for the job.”\n\nCueto, 34, couldn’t regain his composure, though, issuing another walk to Cody Bellinger before misplacing a slider to Justin Turner, who crushed it out to left field for a three-run homer that pulled the Dodgers within one. Turner is now 12-for-35 (.343) with two home runs in his career against Cueto.
\n\n \n\n“Through five innings, Cueto could have shut anybody out, in my opinion,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Kept us off balance, everything was at the hollow of the knee. I don't think we hit a ball hard all night, except for the home run by Justin. The ball that fell, you could see Cueto get a little disturbed by that. He was battling a little something with the foot, you could see that.”\n\nCueto departed after throwing 93 pitches in his 300th career start, allowing four runs on two hits over 5 2/3 innings. He was replaced by left-hander Tony Watson, who induced a popout from Max Muncy to end the inning. Tyler Rogers and Trevor Gott followed with three hitless innings to seal the win for the Giants and set up a rubber match for Sunday’s series finale.
\n\nThe victory offered a bit of solace for Pence, who was spotted apologizing to Cueto in the dugout after the sixth and appeared deeply upset by the misplay.\n\n“You’re just mad and you feel terrible,” Pence said. “You feel sick to your stomach. Fortunately, the bullpen pitched outstanding. ... We kept the lead and we won the game, ultimately, so that makes it a lot easier. But at the same time, he deserves better. It can’t happen, but it did.”
\n\n**Slater, Yaz flex power vs. Kershaw**\n\nThe bizarre sequence of events in the sixth inning overshadowed a career night by right fielder
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