Johnny Cueto’s Unprecedented Pitching Strategy Fans Dodgers And Awes Fans
San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto crushed the Dodgers in his start against them in Los Angeles over the weekend, and he did it using a style of pitching San Francisco’s fans — nor its coaches — have never seen before.
To be more specific, Cueto got very experimental with his pitching. Whereas pitchers generally find a delivery they like and stick to it rigidly for a span of months, years, or even their entire career, Cueto tried out an innovative approach where he switched up the timing of his release, the beats of his windup, or the body motion of his follow-through every few pitches. In other words, Cueto was just mixing together elements of the vast array of pitching styles in his arsenal to see what worked best.
Johnny Cueto dominates, bullpen barely holds on, Giants win https://t.co/QoJhv2gCvR pic.twitter.com/AV7sI691gc
— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) April 17, 2016
Johnny Cueto told the San Francisco Giants’ official site that he utilized the eclectic pitching style partly to amuse himself, but mostly to assure he always stayed one step ahead of the Dodgers’ hitters.
“I just like to get creative. I like to invent when I’m on the mound, just to keep the batters off balance.”
Cueto also said that he wanted to use the start as an opportunity to up his credibility with Giants fans, because last year he gained a reputation for performing horribly on the road. After his acquisition by the Kansas City Royals in the middle of the 2015 season, Johnny Cueto lost seven of his eight starts on the road with the team.
“That was last year,” Johnny said.
“Today is 2016. Something different.”
“I told myself I need to be aggressive today,” Cueto said.
“I felt more aggressive and I felt a lot better than the other starts.”
Are we sure this is the same johnny cueto from the reds and royals?
— Momo Castro (@Momo16giantfan) April 10, 2016
Giants catcher Buster Posey said he admires the veteran Cueto’s ability to dispense of batters at lightning speed, a technique that allows Johnny to conserve pitch count and work further into the games he starts.
“I just enjoy the pace that he works at, really quickly, and I think anybody on defense appreciates that, whether you’re catching or in the field.”
Cueto’s unheard-of strategy was very effective, too. The Dodgers did not have any answer for the dominance Johnny brought to the mound during his 7 1/3 inning outing, the first five innings of which were on pace for a perfect game.
Cueto’s final result did not end up as flawless as the first five, but Johnny ended up striking out seven while allowing only three hits and one run to secure his third win of the season, a very fitting birthday gift for Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who turned 61.
Johnny Cueto posts 7 K over 7.1 innings as Giants snap a 5-game losing streak in LA, edging out Dodgers, 4-3. pic.twitter.com/EHlcOz4mDx
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 17, 2016
San Francisco closer Javier Lopez reflected on Cueto’s masterful performance after the game was over while at the same time praising the performance of the Giants as a whole.
“Johnny deserved that win, they knew it, and they took pride in making sure that he got it.”
In keeping with Lopez’s words, points out Bleacher Report, the San Francisco Giants have begun to regard Johnny Cueto as a leader of sorts. He is, after all, extremely confident and talented in addition to being bound to the team for the next six seasons due to the six-year, $130 million contract Cueto signed with the Giants during the offseason.
If the team chooses to follow Cueto in the new and creative stylings he demonstrated in his performance last night, the 2016 San Francisco Giants season will be an interesting one indeed.
FINAL: #SFGiants win 4-3
Career win #99 for @JohnnyCueto #BeatLA pic.twitter.com/EJu7Tk8QVL— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 17, 2016
Are you excited to see Johnny Cueto mixing it up on the Giants for the next six years? Let us know in the comments section.
[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
