PITTSBURGH _ Any scouts on hand to see Johnny Cueto before the trade deadline got an extended look Friday night.
The Giants right-hander stuck around for 114 pitches, laboring through five innings as if wearing a backpack full of boulders. He looked like toast in a wobbly fifth but persuaded Bruce Bochy to let him get through one last spot of trouble.
"You OK?" the manager during a tense mound visit.
Cueto nodded his approval. Bochy smacked him on the backside. And then the pitcher gasped to the finish line. He got out of a bases-loaded jam by getting Chris Stewart to ground to short, the last tense moment in a 13-5 victory at PNC Park.
From there, the Giants' fourth consecutive victory was a breezy one. They scored five runs in the top of the six thanks to a stone-cold offense is finally showing signs of thawing.
The Giants had a season-high 18 hits. Denard Span hit a leadoff homer as part of a 4-for-5 night, with four runs scored. Hunter Pence went 3 for 4 with five RBIs. Brandon Belt went 2 for 4, with three RBIs.
Heck, even Ryder Jones, got into the action. After starting his career 0 for 17, the rookie infielder smacked a clean single of Jhan Marinez to start the seventh inning. Only two San Francisco non-pitchers had a longer wait before their first major league hit: Dick Dietz (0 for 18 in 1966) and Edwards Guzman (0 for 21 in 1999).
The featured attraction was supposed to be Cueto. As the calendar tilts toward the July 31 deadline, the right-hander ranks among the most valuable commodities on the market. Any team that acquires Cueto in a trade would have to view him as a rental, since he's likely to opt for free agency after this season.
He made the best of bad stuff Friday night, continuing his career-long mastery of Pittsburgh. Cueto is now 20-4 with a 2.19 ERA lifetime against the Pirates. That includes 9-0 in his past 13 outings against them.
Cueto's command was off almost from the start and he threw only about half his pitches for strikes (62 of 114). But he showed fire when it mattered, sticking around just long enough to qualify for the win.
In all, this was an ideal way for the Giants to start a six-game road trip through Pittsburgh and Detroit. The Giants entered play with a 13-30 road record, second worst in the majors.
But Span helped set a different tone from the start. He homered on second pitch of the game, continuing a torrid stretch for the Giants leadoff man. He is now 40 for 107 (.373) over his past 26 games.
Pence is heating up, too. He is now 24 for 65 (.369) with 11 runs, four doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs over his past 17 games.
