SAN FRANCISCO --
Cueto allowed three runs on six hits over six innings to earn his first win since May 31, but he also broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth when he drew a walk off Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez and raced home from first on
Cueto initially called for a jacket after reaching base, but he ended up handing it off to first-base coach Antoan Richardson and then shed another piece of his uniform after Wade smashed a fastball from Velasquez into the gap in right-center field. After taking three steps toward second, Cueto tossed his helmet to properly show off his wheels, zipping around the bases to put the Giants in front, 4-3.\n\n“He can run,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “He can scoot a little bit. Just from a sprint speed perspective, we’ve seen him somewhere in the middle of the pack with our position players at times. We all know he runs well.”
Cueto looked like his vintage self after logging a 1.80 ERA over his first three starts of the season, but he missed nearly a month with a right lat strain and didn’t look the same after returning in early May. He entered Friday with a 5.29 ERA in seven starts since coming off the injured list, including a rough outing at Nationals Park on Sunday, when he tied a season high by allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings.\n\nLooking to change things up, Cueto decided to switch his warmup music from Nicky Jam’s “El Amante” to El Alfa’s “Suave” on Friday.\n\n“I texted \\[Spanish language radio broadcaster\\] Erwin \\[Higueros\\] and I asked him to change it,” Cueto said. “I had that song for about six years and it wasn’t bringing me any good luck, so I told Erwin to pick a different song.”\n\nThe new tune initially didn’t seem to help Cueto find his rhythm on the mound, as he surrendered a leadoff home run to Odúbel Herrera on his fourth pitch of the game. It wasn’t Cueto’s only slip up. When he faced Herrera again in the top of the third, Cueto lost his balance after releasing a 93 mph fastball and tumbled to the ground. Head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner came out to check on Cueto, who ultimately stayed in the game after delivering a few practice pitches without issue.
Like Cueto, the Giants recovered from the early stumble, erasing the one-run deficit with a three-run second that was aided by sloppy defensive play by the Phillies.\n\nFormer Giant Andrew McCutchen briefly tied the game, 3-3, after hammering a misplaced sinker out to center field for a two-run shot in the top of the fourth, but Cueto restored the Giants’ lead with his speedy baserunning in the bottom half of the inning.\n\n“When I saw the ball come off the bat, I told myself, ‘I have to score,’” Cueto said. “I felt stronger after running the bases.”\n\nCueto returned to the mound and fired two scoreless innings to cap his 94-pitch outing, though he benefited from a few outstanding plays from his defense. Wade delivered the defensive highlight of the night in the sixth, when he fielded Bryce Harper’s drive off the left-field wall and fired a perfect one-hop throw to
“Since he hit it so hard, I knew it was going to come off the wall pretty good, so I tried to put myself in a good position to make a good throw through \\[