SAN FRANCISCO _ San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy has tried anything and everything to recharge his tired and tepid players.
So he went a different way Thursday afternoon. He tried nothing.
Bochy scrapped batting practice and told his players to arrive by 5 p.m. for a night game _ a bit close to the opening curtain, especially in the middle of a homestand. And while correlation is not causation, the Giants didn't care to explore the reasons their bats appeared livelier in their 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park.
Johnny Cueto went the distance while also contributing a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, Buster Posey collected four hits and Denard Span, moved down to eighth in the lineup for the first time since his rookie season, provided the add-on hit that eliminated a touchy save situation as the Giants (78-68) picked up ground in two playoff races.
They are not dead yet in the NL West, where they trimmed their deficit to four games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. They cleared a bit of litter from their path to the NL wild card game, too; they are one game better than the New York Mets and two up on the Cardinals.
Cueto (16-5) allowed just five hits, threw a tidy 105 pitches, retired the final 15 batters he faced and threw his fifth complete game to match the White Sox's Chris Sale for the major league lead with five complete games. He also became the first Giant to throw five complete games in a season since Jason Schmidt in 2003.
Cueto is one player whose blood pressure rises when he spies those balancing redbirds on the opposing jerseys. He is a well documented enemy going back to his days with the Cincinnati Reds, when he once showed the Cardinals the glint of his metal spikes during a benches-clearing brawl.
Back in June, Cueto pitched six nearly spotless innings to win at Busch Stadium. He was nearly as good Thursday night, facing the minimum in six of his first eight innings while using the blustery ballpark to his advantage against a homer-or-bust St. Louis lineup.
Hunter Pence handed Cueto a 2-0 lead in the first inning when he hit a hanging breaking ball from Adam Wainwright for his 12th home run of the season.
Cueto gave it back in the third and fourth. First, Randal Grichuk doubled off the left field wall and scored on Jedd Gyorko's two-out single up the middle that dangerously fluttered Cueto's braided hair.
Then the Cardinals drew even when they strung together three hits in the fourth. Yadier Molina singled, Jhonny Peralta hit a double that left fielder Angel Pagan couldn't cut off, and the Giants made another miscue when Molina took a wide turn around third but Brandon Crawford's relay throw was too high for Eduardo Nunez to attempt a tag.
Grichuk followed with an RBI single, and Cueto did well to get a pop-up and a strikeout to strand Peralta at third.
Cueto failed in two sacrifice bunt situations, but he provided his own lead with a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the fourth. The Giants loaded the bases on Nunez's double and a pair of walks, including an intentional pass to Span, before Cueto slapped a line drive to right field that was deep enough to score Brandon Belt.
Angel Pagan followed with an RBI single up the middle to give the Giants a 4-2 lead.
That's where the score stood in the seventh as Span batted with two outs and the bases loaded. For most of his plate appearance, the on-deck circle was empty. So was the bullpen, though. Bochy did not bother with a decoy because it was clear that Cueto would finish what he started.
Finally, Cueto peeled off a hooded sweatshirt, and he received a turn at bat after Span, who entered in a 3-for-47 funk, singled to right field to drive in two runs.
Span wasn't the only veteran who appeared rejuvenated in the crisp air. Posey, who often skips batting practice anyway, singled three times and nearly broke his two-month homerless streak when he hit a 400-foot double. It was his second four-hit game of the season.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford also had more spring in his step. He contributed a leaping catch of a line drive in the second inning, and drew a point and a cheer from Cueto after going deep in the hole to field a ground out in the ninth.
Cueto used eight pitches to retire the Cardinals on three fly outs in the eighth, and then walked to the mound in the ninth to the loudest and most hopeful ovation heard at Third and King since, well, this team's rousing first half.
