Giants at Brewers
Johnny Cueto makes his San Francisco debut when the Giants attempt to
defeat the host Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday for the second straight
day. San Francisco gave Cueto a six-year, $130 million contract in the
offseason in hopes he'll form a dynamic duo with Opening Day winner
Madison Bumgarner.
Cueto enjoyed a lot of success against the Brewers as a member of the Cincinnati Reds and has won his last six starts against them. It was the offense that performed brightest in the Giants' 12-3 victory on Monday as center fielder Denard Span homered and had five RBIs while third baseman Matt Duffy had a homer and four RBIs. Catcher Buster Posey shook off the flu bug to homer and second baseman Joe Panik also went deep as seven of San Francisco's 15 hits went for extra bases. The Brewers received solo homers from second baseman Scooter Gennett and shortstop Jonathan Villar but were just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Johnny Cueto (2015: 11-13, 3.44 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Jimmy Nelson (2015: 11-13, 4.11)
The 30-year-old Cueto had an inconsistent season split between the Reds and the World Series champion Kansas City Royals last season but it didn't hurt him in the free-agent market. He has made 30 or more starts in six of his eight major-league seasons and boasts 96 career victories. Cueto is 9-3 with a 2.87 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 18 career starts against Milwaukee.
Nelson earned the No. 2 starting role with a strong spring in which he went 2-1 with a 1.17 ERA in four starts. He acquitted himself well last season in his first full year as a major-league starter and led the Brewers in victories, starts (30), innings (177 1/3) and strikeouts (148). The 26-year-old Nelson won his lone career start against the Giants when he allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings on Aug. 5, 2014.
WALK-OFFS
1. Span, Panik and Posey all hit consecutive homers in the eighth inning on Monday - marking the first time a team has clubbed three straight homers on opening day since the 1997 San Diego Padres (Chris Gomez, Rickey Henderson and Quilvio Veras).
2. Gennett entered the opener with a .124 career average against left-handers and his homer off Bumgarner was his first off a southpaw.
3. San Francisco 1B Brandon Belt went 3-for-4 on Monday with a pair of doubles and an RBI in the opener.