LOS ANGELES — Johnny Cueto never broke a sweat Friday night, but that doesn’t mean it was a relaxing night for his manager.
As Cueto’s pitch count climbed, Bruce Bochy started thinking of the possibility of lifting a starter who had a perfect game going. Cueto was at 86 pitches through six innings, more than he had thrown in any spring training tuneup. That is not, generally, anything remarkable for Johnny Cueto. Under normal circumstances, he would be expected to throw 110 or 120 with ease.
But these were not normal circumstances. Cueto is coming off a year in which injuries wrecked his season.