By Morris Phillips

It’s not often a major league club leaves town flying higher than the airplane they’re on, but that scenario would aptly describe the Giants after their 10-1 win over the Brewers on Wednesday.

Johnny Cueto pitched seven strong innings, and the Giants built an early 8-0 lead and cruised, despite missing several regular starters behind their $100 million pitcher. With the sweep of Milwaukee, the Giants moved a season-best 15 games above .500 and maintained their six game lead in the NL West.

“We’ve been playing a lot of tight games so it was nice to be able to take him out after seven and give him a breather,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Cueto, who moved to 10-1, tied for the best win total in the National League with Clayton Kershaw, Jake Arrieta and Stephen Strasburg.

Bochy elected to rest Denard Span and Brandon Belt, but welcomed back Angel Pagan, who was in the starting lineup batting sixth. That meant the Giants fielded a lineup with just one of the major league’s top 75 hitters in Buster Posey, but without Belt and the injured Hunter Pence. That meant the unheralded Brewers—even with Ryan Braun out of the lineup for rest—had more such hitters (2) than the Giants. But it didn’t matter much as the Giants pounded out sixteen hits and put the game away with four runs in the third, and four more in the fourth.

Pagan, Matt Duffy, Joe Panik and Gregor Blanco each had three hits for the Giants, and Posey stayed hot with two hits and two runs batted in. Blanco hit in the leadoff spot, despite experiencing some shoulder discomfort that prompted some medical tests before the game.

Blanco had been slumping, but Bochy obviously had a stroke of genius by putting his outfielder at the top of the order.   One thing’s for sure, Blanco noticed the gesture, and performed with appreciation.

“It was awesome,” Blanco said of his lineup spot. “As soon as I saw myself in the lineup as the leadoff hitter, I said ‘Yeah!’

Cueto allowed a leadoff single to Jonathan Villar, but one out later, the veteran pitcher caught Villar moving toward second and he ran right at the baserunner and executed a neat, push-down tag. Cueto went on to strike out nine, allowing just one run on seven hits and a walk.

The Giants open a seven-game road trip on Friday night in Tampa with the Rays. The continue on to Pittsburgh for a four-game set starting Monday.

With Matt Cain again on the disabled list with his hamstring issue, the Giants have yet to name a replacement in the rotation, with that spot up on Sunday in the series finale in Tampa. Bochy hinted that the team may move up Madison Bumgarner and pitch him on his regular four day’s rest, or turn to long man Albert Suarez. Either way, it doesn’t appear the team will promote anyone to take Cain’s spot, at least not on this road trip.

Belt is expected to return to the lineup on Friday, and he was available to pinch hit on Wednesday, indicative of his quick return from the foot injury he suffered on Tuesday night.