Johnny Cueto showed what he needed to show in his final tuneup with Charlotte. He started his night with 4⅔ hitless innings before the Indianapolis lineup starting getting wise to him, and while he gave up two runs, one scored on Andrew Perez's watch (the other was a solo shot on a mistake).
Cueto has to be called up by Sunday or else he can opt-out, and with a doubleheader in Kansas City necessitating five starters over four days, that seems like a perfect time to introduce him to the proceedings in Chicago, with Tony La Russa left to figure it out afterward.
It looks like he's going to top out at 91-92, so he'll need his whole repertoire of deception to throw hitters off his scent. I was wondering how much the pitch clock might affect the way Cueto conducts himself in minor-league games, and James Fegan got something from Joe Kelly about that.
Charlotte 5, Indianapolis 4
- Adam Haseley was 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Yolbert Sánchez walked twice and struck out twice.
- Andrew Vaughn went 0-for-4 with a K in his first rehab game.
- Jake Burger went 1-for-3 with an HBP.
- Johnny Cueto: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
Birmingham 10, Biloxi 5
- Lenyn Sosa homered, doubled, singled and struck out twice.
- Yoelqui Céspedes was 2-for-5 with a homer and a strikeout.
- José Rodríguez went 2-for-5.
Rome 3, Winston-Salem 0
- Bryan Ramos was 0-for-4.
- Luis Mieses went 1-for-4 with a K.
- Adam Hackenburg struck out thrice and reached on catcher interference.
- Harvin Mendoza struck out thrice during an 0-for-4 night.
- Andrew Dalquist avoided walking four: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Fredericksburg 3, Kannapolis 0
- Wes Kath went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- DJ gladney was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Chase Krogman singled, walked and struck out twice.
- Noah Owen: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 WP
