Johnny Cueto had a stellar performance at his Chicago White Sox debut in Kansas City last Monday.
He was even more impressive in his second start of the season against the New York Yankees on Sunday.
The veteran right-hander allowed six hits in more than six scoreless innings at Yankee Stadium, but was not a factor in the decision. The Sox gave up a late lead to react with only two in the ninth for a 3–1 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader.
“He’s an artist,” said Sox manager Tony La Russa. “It’s fun watching him pitch a game. And that’s what he has been, an excellent starting pitcher, because he gives you a different look four times in a game.
AJ Pollock placed the Sox in ninth place with a leadoff homer and left Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman on a 1-0 fastball.
“You have to live less than that,” said Pollock. “He’s got some good velocity, a good cut on his fastball, so just trying to hit a line drive and it worked.”
Andrew Vaughan drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a wooded pitch and third on a passed ball, before Adam Engel scored on the double, making it 3–1. Liam Hendrix scored two runs in a perfect ninth for his 13th defense.
It was a fine bounce-back performance by the Sox as the Yankees tied the score at 1 in the eighth, when Aaron Judge dropped on a 0-2 sinker against reliever Kendall Graveman.
The Yankees scored two runs with one in the innings, but Graveman rebounded to fly Josh Donaldson to the center and Aaron Hicks in third.
“Most of the times you do that, (you) lose your concentration and there’s another run on the board,” La Russa said of Graveman. “He got a zero later, giving us a chance to win.”
Quito quickly put the Sox in an excellent position.
“I had a good grip on all my pitches today and they had great pace and I was able to find them up and down the field,” Cueto, who received fluids after Game 1, said in a statement. “That was the key to keeping the Yankees in balance today.”
The Sox went 1-0 up on an RBI single by Yasmani Grandal in the fourth.
And Kyuto did the “dealing”, as Pollock put it. He scored five runs and scored two runs in a 95-pitch outing.
Pollock said, ‘He has been fantastic for us. “Works fast and has all kinds of pitches to balance them out. Shimmy Shake (delivery). It’s great to play behind him. It’s great to have him out there for the first game of the doubleheader because of the tone he set for us. ,
According to STATS, at the start of his stint with the team since 1974, Cueto made 12 scoreless innings, the third-longest streak for a Sox starter. Ken Brett played 17 innings in 1976 and Jack McDowell 13 in 1987.
Cueto allowed two hits and scored seven in six scoreless innings against the Royals.
“When (general manager) Rick (Hahn) mentioned that we were going to be able to bring him into the organization, he had a special relationship with our pitching coach (Ethan Katz) because they were in San Francisco together (in 2020). ) were. “La Russa said. “Ethan was watching the video (before the triple-A from Charlotte to Cueto) and said, ‘Man, he’s throwing free and easy. That’s vintage stuff.'”
Cueto was out after allowing two singles to start the seventh. Joe Kelly dismissed Marvin Gonzalez, picked up Hicks on second and dismissed Jose Trevino to maintain a one-run lead.
“Kelly was absolutely right,” said La Russa.
The Yankees got a run in the eighth, but Pollock delivered the Sox with a big hit in the ninth that La Russa called a “hard-earned” victory.
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