Sacramento River Cats & SF Giants Press Clips Tuesday, August 1, 2017 Article Source Author Page Sacramento shuts out New Orleans, win third straight River Cats Arnold-Gordon 1 Cueto exits rehab start with tight forearm MLB.com Hawthorne 2 Giants to still explore options after Deadline MLB.com Haft 2 Different injury cuts Johnny Cueto s rehab start in San Jose short NBC Sports Bay Area Pavlovic 3 More Giants pain: Johnny Cueto develops tight forearm SF Gate Schulman 4 Johnny Cueto s injury overshadows Giants loss to A s The Mercury News Baggarly 4
Sacramento shuts out New Orleans, win third straight By Evan Arnold-Gordon / Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats (46-62) made it three in a row Monday night against the New Orleans Baby Cakes (40-68), shutting them out 3-0 at Raley Field. The River Cats have now won six of their last seven games. Right-hander Jose Flores was stellar on the mound tonight for Sacramento, tossing 6.2 scoreless innings against the Baby Cakes while striking out seven. The Venezuelan native surrendered his only two walks in his final inning, leaving the bases loaded for reliever Reyes Moronta who got out of the inning unscathed. Right-hander Derek Law took over for Moronta in the ninth and earned his team-leading sixth save. The River Cats and Baby Cakes will wrap up their four-game set tomorrow night as Sacramento sends left-hander Andrew Suarez (4-4, 4.18) to the hill. He will oppose New Orleans right-hander William Cuevas (1-3, 3.86). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. (PT) and the game can be heard live on the air on ESPN 1320 and online at rivercats.com. Postgame Notes Flores: Right-hander Jose Flores threw a season-high 98 pitches (63 strikes) lowered his ERA from 4.03 to 3.28 after tonight's outing threw first pitch strikes to 13 of the 25 batters he faced now has 36 strikeouts in 35.2 innings pitched (six starts). Jones: Right fielder Ryder Jones extended his hitting streak to six games tonight he is hitting.500 (11- for-22) over that span also extended his RBI streak to six games with another RBI tonight has knocked in nine over his last six games. Sandoval: Third baseman Pablo Sandoval collected his second RBI with the River Cats, both of which have come on sacrifice flies has five walks in seven games with the River Cats (.379 OBP). Moronta: Right-hander Reyes Moronta earned his first hold tonight the No. 27 Giants' prospect has not allowed any of his five inherited runners to score since joining the club. Goose Egg: Sacramento earned their fourth shutout victory are now 4-6 in shutouts (3-3 at home), the 12th best mark in the PCL. July Review: The River Cats set a new season-high by winning their 14th game this month Ryan Lollis led the club with 13 RBI in July while right-hander Flores led the team in both innings pitched (35.2) and starts (six). 1
Cueto exits rehab start with tight forearm By Jonathan Hawthorne / MLB.com OAKLAND -- Giants starter Johnny Cueto experienced forearm tightness during his rehab start Monday with Class A San Jose, potentially slowing down his expected return to the rotation. San Francisco hoped he could be available this weekend against the visiting D-backs. The former All-Star completed three innings, throwing 34 pitches (26 strikes). San Francisco initially expected Cueto to throw roughly 70 pitches in a rehab start that he lobbied for. But he left after allowing two hits, walking one and striking out four. The Giants placed the righty on the disabled list shortly after the All-Star break with blister-related pains on his three middle fingers. "It looked like he was throwing the ball well. He felt something in the forearm," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said after his team's 8-5 loss to the A's on Monday night. "That's why he was shut down." The Giants plan to evaluate Cueto on Tuesday. Giants to still explore options after Deadline By Chris Haft / MLB.com OAKLAND -- The roster reclamation project that the Giants know they must undertake remained on hold as baseball's non-waiver Trade Deadline passed Monday. Giants general manager Bobby Evans said that he and his associates worked hard to forge a deal that would upgrade the roster. But they couldn't find a fit resembling the one they engineered last Wednesday with the Red Sox, who obtained infielder Eduardo Nunez for two pitching prospects. Evans insisted that the Giants, who entered Monday with a National League-worst 40-66 record, aimed high. "We were asking for some pretty good guys," Evans said. "We understand that we have to make changes to this roster to get to some place where you're more competitive.... How much we can accomplish between now and the beginning of 2018 remains to be seen." Evans said that, in return, rival teams inquired about the availability of the Giants' "core guys." Evans wouldn't name this group, but Giants players most frequently appearing in trade rumors included second baseman Joe Panik and right-handers Jeff Samardzija and Hunter Strickland. Samardzija, for one, welcomed staying put with the Giants. "There's definitely relief," Samardzija said. "When you want to be somewhere and you enjoy being there, the last you want to happen is to have to move." Still, Evans vowed to pursue alternatives. 2
"The road map for us is going to continue to reveal options," he said. "It remains to be seen what your options are.... It has to make sense for you short- and long-term." That means good sense fiscally. And the Giants, who have been hit with the Collective Bargaining Tax for exceeding payroll limits for three consecutive years, must avoid making significant player moves until an acquisition's salary is set. According to MLB.com research, of the 32 players traded since July 24, 21 were "rentals" who will be eligible for free agency after this season and the others were either eligible for salary arbitration or likely to receive "Super 2" status -- the relatively small pool of players who qualify for arbitraton while possessing between two and three years of big league service time. "It's a bit early for clubs to know what their budget is for next year," Evans said. However, he didn't use that as an excuse for inactivity. "You have to acknowledge the struggles that we've had and how to address the struggles," Evans said. Different injury cuts Johnny Cueto's rehab start in San Jose short By Alex Pavlovic / NBC Sports Bay Area OAKLAND -- Johnny Cueto was supposed to throw about 70 pitches in a rehab start Monday night. He was pulled after 34, with a problem much worse than the blisters that have held him back this season. Manager Bruce Bochy said Cueto was pulled early because he felt tightness in his right forearm. He will be evaluated by team doctors on Tuesday. Bochy said he did not know if the tightness was similar to the strain that has sidelined Mark Melancon, but any type of forearm discomfort is a red flag. "I hate to speculate at this point," Bochy said. Cueto was making his first appearance since June 14, a start in San Diego that was cut short when three of his fingers started heating up. He was pulled early that night to prevent blisters from forming and he didn't pick up a ball for a week. Cueto was adamant that he needed a rehab start before returning to big league action and the Giants agreed. Monday's action in San Jose started in a positive way. Cueto gave up a single but then struck out a pair to get out of the inning. He gave up two hits in three scoreless innings, striking out four and walking one. Bochy said he was throwing well before feeling the discomfort. 3
More Giants pain: Johnny Cueto develops tight forearm By Henry Schulman / SF Gate As if the Giants night, month and season could not get any worse, they got potentially ominous news from San Jose, where Johnny Cueto had to leave a rehab start prematurely Monday night with tightness in his right forearm. Forearm pain often means very little but could signal moderate injuries such as Mark Melancon s pronator strain or even a torn elbow ligament. Manager Bruce Bochy would not begin to speculate on Cueto s issue before the pitcher is examined by the Giants medical staff Tuesday. Cueto was supposed to throw 70 pitches in a single rehab game to ensure the blisters on his fingers were healed, then rejoin the rotation, presumably Saturday against the Diamondbacks. But he threw only 34 pitches over two scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out four. It looked like he was throwing the ball well, Bochy said. Cueto wanted to pitch one game in the minors to fine-tune before returning to the Giants. The last two months of 2017 are important because he can opt out of his contract after the season. The more time he misses, the greater the odds he declines the opt-out and stays with the Giants because he would be less likely to get a better deal than the more than $80 million left on his deal with San Francisco. Johnny Cueto s injury overshadows Giants loss to A s By ANDREW BAGGARLY / The Mercury News OAKLAND For the first time in the history of interleague play, the Giants and A s met on the field as last-place teams Monday night. In the Battle of the Basement, the Giants bullpen sank to the bottom in an 8-5 loss at the Coliseum. But the Giants worst news of the night wasn t the grand slam that George Kontos served up to Marcus Semien in the sixth, or the six walks that four relievers issued in three innings to draw the ire of Manager Bruce Bochy, or even the fact that the Giants fell percentage points behind the Phillies for the worst record in the major leagues. Down the road in San Jose, Johnny Cueto was supposed to throw 70 pitches in a Single-A rehab start. He came out after 34 pitches because of forearm tightness, Bochy said. Cueto will go for tests and he will be reevaluated, and while the severity of his arm injury is not known, the Giants have given up thinking that this season cannot possibly get worse. Cueto, who is on the 10-day disabled list with a blister issue he has battled all season, struck out four in three innings and appeared to be throwing well at Municipal Stadium, Bochy said. Then he felt something in his forearm, Bochy said. That s why he was shut down. 4
Cueto has the ability to walk away from the remaining four years and $84 million on his contract after this season and declare free agency, which remained a possibility if he had a strong finish to the season. The Giants have no such opt-out protection. They took all the risk when they signed the contract, banking on Cueto s durability. And now, given the myriad issues they must address this winter, being on the hook for $84 million of potentially damaged goods would be a major setback. The Giants did nothing in the hours before Monday s non-waiver trade deadline their only move came a week earlier when they dealt third baseman Eduardo Nuñez to the Boston Red Sox for two prospects but that was not a surprise. They were not wired to make any blow-up-the-roster trades. Cueto remained a possibility to be dealt in August, though, because his contract makes it likely he would clear waivers. It has become increasingly clear that if the Giants could trade Cueto, they would both to add an infusion of talent and also to free up their future payroll obligations. Now that possibility appears dimmer than ever. Matt Cain continued to take Cueto s turn in the rotation and he overcame a rocky beginning to turn over a 3-2 game to the bullpen after five innings. Bochy tasked his relievers with protecting a one-run lead while recording a dozen outs. They never came close. Josh Osich started the sixth by walking the first batter, he left the bases loaded for Kontos, Semien s slam vaporized Cain s decision and the relievers spent the rest of the night overthrowing or otherwise missing location. Josh Osich and Kyle Crick were even wild in the bullpen while getting loose. In the major leagues, that shouldn t happen, said Bochy, of the six walks in three innings. We ve got to control the ball better. We ve got to get better in the bullpen. How, exactly? Well, you throw quality strikes like a major league pitcher should, Bochy said. You ll have your hiccups but it shouldn t be this much. Hopefully they re not timid or have lost confidence, because they have the equipment to pitch up here. The Giants and A s are always playing for pride and local bragging rights, which mean something to the people who bang drums, paint their faces and a true test of loyalty brave the bridge traffic. There are few stadium sounds in Bay Area sports as unique as the mix when A s fans boo Giants fans for cheering Buster Posey. The A s fans cheered loudest in the sixth, and the Giants were left again to reminisce what times were like with a functional bullpen. The Giants took their 3-2 lead in the fourth when a bottom of the lineup that the Giants didn t anticipate fielding in the spring scraped together a pair of RBI hits. Jae-gyun Hwang singled home Posey, and Carlos Moncrief, a 28-year-old minor league journeyman making his first big league start, created a differencemaking souvenir. He hit a hopper off the mound for an infield single the first hit of his career that scored Brandon Crawford. 5
But a Giants bullpen that blew two leads Sunday night at Dodger Stadium was even less reliable against a last-place opponent. When the Giants rallied to make it a one-run game in the eighth, their bullpen gave it right back. Kyle Crick left two runners on base and Hunter Strickland couldn t strand them with two outs. 6