by Jessica Kwong
AP photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto points to whose guiding him on the mound as he picks up his third win of 2016 against the LA Dodgers on Saturday
LOS ANGELES–San Francisco Giant Johnny Cueto allowed only one run and struck out seven in seven and one-third innings on Saturday night to give his team a 4-3 victory and snap the rival Los Angeles Dodgers’ three-game winning streak.
The win was highly welcomed after the Giants the previous night lost 7-3 in a matchup between Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw that lopsided in Los Angeles’ favor.
Cueto has started 3-0 for the third time in his career, and Giants manager Bruce
Bochy said he wasn’t surprised he could perform at that level.
It wasn’t until the fifth inning that Cueto allowed a baserunner.
“Look at his track record – he’s had an unbelievable career,” Bochy said. “We know how good he is how. He competes and yesterday he wasn’t even pitching, he was by me yelling. He’s into the game. He loves being out there and he’s all about winning.”
The Giants’ Joe Panik singled on a ground ball and allowed the Denard Span to put the Giants up 1-0 in the first inning. In the fourth inning, Hunter Pence scored after Brandon Crawrford hit a ground-rule double.
San Francisco brought their lead up to 4-0 in the fifth inning, when Brandon Belt singled a line drive and Panik scored, and Buster Posey scored when Matt Duffy grounded into a double play.
Cueto, who was pulled after 109 pitches, attributed his impressive start this season to “I just staying healthy, working hard and staying aggressive.”
The Dodgers ramped up their game in the seventh inning, when Justin Turner scored off of Kike Hernandez’s line drive. In the eight inning, Corey Seager hit a home run allowing A. J. Ellis to also score and the Dodgers trailed 4-3.
San Francisco held off the Dodgers for the victory on Giants manager Bruce Bochy’s 61st birthday.
With the Giants’ win Saturday, they climb back up to tie the Dodgers at first place in the NL West with a 7-5 record.
The crowd Satuday night was the Dodgers’ third sellout of the season. The third and final game in the series between the rivals starts at 5:05 p.m. Sunday.
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