SAN FRANCISCO _ Johnny Cueto and Orlando Cepeda made long-awaited returns to AT&T Park Thursday night, but the San Francisco Giants pitcher didn't give the recovering Giants legend and Hall of Famer much to cheer for.
Cueto, in his first major league start since April 28 after coming off the 60-day disabled list (elbow strain), allowed five runs, 10 hits and two home runs to the St. Louis Cardinals while throwing 76 pitches in five innings of work. He loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning, and his night got worse from there. The Cardinals (45-41) led 5-0 after five innings after tagging Cueto in the first two, and cruised to an 11-2 win over the Giants (45-44). Cueto's counterpart, Cardinals right-hander Luke Weaver, didn't allow a base runner in the first five frames.
Cueto entered the game with a 3-0 record and 0.84 earned run average, a mark that led all major league pitchers at the time he hit the disabled list. He started the season as one of baseball's most impressive arms before fearing Tommy John surgery, which wasn't needed in the end, but failed to pick up where he left off on Thursday night.
After allowing a leadoff walk and back-to-back singles to start the game, Cueto induced an RBI groundout to himself off the bat of cleanup hitter Marcell Ozuna. The next batter, Jedd Gyorko, blasted a 3-0 pitch over the right field wall to spoil Cueto's triumphant return before it even got underway. A Matt Carpenter solo shot to center field in the second inning punctuated the damage, which was already too much for the hitting-starved Giants to overcome.
By the time Alen Hanson's two-run shot sailed into the right-field stands in the sixth inning, the Giants already trailed 9-0. Thursday's debacle came after a three-game sweep at the hands of the Rockies in which San Francisco only scored three total runs. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said before the game he wouldn't have showed up in Colorado if he knew his team would only score three times in the series.
Thursday's effort wasn't much better, especially from Cueto and his fellow pitchers. Maybe the hosts could've used Cepeda, who made his first visit to AT&T Park since suffering a stroke and severe head injuries in February outside his gym in Fairfield.
The 80-year-old Hall of Famer said he is doing well, and told a small group of reporters that returning to AT&T Park "feels like coming home."
"I think he's the pillar of our family," said Ali Cepeda, Orlando's son. " ... Just to have him here, being able to walk with a cane, it's huge improvement."
Cepeda, who said he "didn't do anything" for 7-10 days after the parking lot fall that left him hospitalized, stayed in a medically-induced coma for three days after his accident, his son said. Not long after he woke up, a familiar face stood by his bed.
Fellow Giants legend Juan Marichal happened to be in town shortly after the fall. Marichal was being inducted to the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame in Oakland on Feb. 23, four days after the accident. "It was really meant to be," said Ali, who mentioned Cepeda was supposed to introduce Marichal at the event. Inside the hospital room, Marichal asked Cepeda to move his toes as a way of reacting to his words. Cepeda did for the first time since waking up, Ali said.
"Juan kissed him (and said), 'I'm your brother, I'm here, do something for me,' and then he did," Ali said. "That was big."
Among Cepeda's other visitors were Giants CEO Larry Baer, former Giants president Peter Magowan, former Giants manager Dusty Baker and former team marketing guru Pat Gallagher. When people from his baseball past visited, Cepeda said, they didn't talk about the game.
"They want to talk about life," Cepeda said enthusiastically.
What did the bevy of visitors mean to Cepeda during such a trying time in his life?
"A lot. A lot," Cepeda said. "When you're in that situation, and you came so close to going the other way, it's really amazing the people who care about you."
Cepeda, who won 1958 National League Rookie of the Year in the Giants' first year in San Francisco, played 17 MLB seasons for six teams. Making his first visit back to AT&T Park is a small step, but an important one in his promising recovery.
"Him coming back was definitely part of recovery, definitely. We're here," Ali said. " ... He went to the doctor today. Doctor said, 'Can you tell us one thing that hurts?' He was like, 'I can tell you 50 things,' so the doctor was laughing. He's battling every day and he's a fighter. He's still got some good years left."
