SF Giants: Johnny Cueto leads way in home opener

The SF Giants notched a 3-1 victory against the Colorado Rockies in the home opener with fans in attendance for the first time since 2019.

SF Giants: Johnny Cueto Leads Way in Home Opener

The first six innings of the game were unusually uneventful as both Johnny Cueto and Austin Gomber strung together quiet and efficient innings. Though, if you are a pitcher, you might prefer something less eventful such as today’s game.

However, if you were hoping to see two offensive juggernauts go head-to-head, then you were not in luck.

The offense did not start to click until the seventh inning where Gomber’s pitch count crept above 100 pitches and he was worn down from the workload. At that point, the Giants clogged the bases by way of the walk to Darin Ruf, Buster Posey, and Alex Dickerson. Brandon Crawford stepped into the batter’s box and made some noise:

Two runs are all the Giants would need, but they added an insurance run in the eighth inning by clogging the bases yet again with a single, walk, and then another single. Dickerson followed by flipping a ball into right field for an RBI single.

The Giants made us believe that they were going to put up another crooked number in the eighth inning, but alas, it was not meant to be. Crawford grounded into a double play to end the rally.

Cueto came out for the ninth inning with a shot at a complete game. However, a leadoff triple by Chris Owings presented a speed bump for the right-handed hurler. Garrett Hampson, who is a part owner of the Giants I believe, drove in Owings to give the Rockies their first run of the game.

Cueto got one more out in the inning before yielding a single to Trevor Story. At 118 pitches, Giants manager Gabe Kapler had seen enough and pulled the 35-year-old after 8.2 frames. Closer Jake McGee came in and got the final punchout to record the save.

This was a satisfying victory for the SF Giants on many fronts. For starters, San Francisco took the first game of the series and they are now in the driver’s seat this weekend. On the other hand, Cueto gave the Giants a surprisingly strong performance after a rough 2020 campaign. Lastly, fans got to enjoy the experience at Oracle Park for the first time in 18 months. This was a good way to start the weekend.