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 When he failed, the club had to resort to Plan B: a real hitter.
Pinch hitter Hunter Pence's towering fly ball fell between two San
Diego Padres defenders in short right field with two outs in the
bottom of the ninth inning, scoring Brandon Belt from first base
with the only run of the game and giving the Giants a 1-0 victory.
Pence was pinch-hitting for Cueto, who went the distance, allowing
just two hits.
"I wanted to get a hit myself," said Cueto, who was allowed to bat
with two on and two outs in the seventh inning but struck out.
"Fortunately, Pence came in and got the hit."
The win was the seventh straight for the Giants against the Padres
this season and ninth in a row dating back to last season.
Belt led off the ninth against the third San Diego pitcher,
left-hander Brad Hand (1-1), with a soft single to center field.
Two outs later, Pence skied a fly ball between Padres right fielder
Matt Kemp and second baseman Alexi Amarista.
 Kemp, who was playing deep to prevent a potential game-winning
extra-base hit, hustled in but never reached the ball until it had
short-hopped off his body, allowing Belt to scamper home easily with
the lone run.
"You see so many balls like that usually caught," said Belt, who was
running hard on the crack of the bat because there were two outs. "I
guess there's always a chance. That's why you keep going in the
first place."
Pence, who didn't start the game because of a strained right
hamstring, was credited with a double. It was his 10th career
walk-off hit.
"He assured me he could do it," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who
said his limited other pinch-hit options included Madison Bumgarner,
who drove in the only run Sunday in San Francisco's 1-0 win over the
Chicago Cubs. "It was the perfect situation for (Pence). We got a
break there. Two outs, they had to play deep."
Coming off completing a 2-1 series win over the Cubs with a pair of
wins over the weekend, the Giants have won 11 of 12.
"The ball should have been caught," Kemp said of the game-winning
hit. "That's my ball. It was easier for me coming in. It was in the
air too long. That's my fault."
 Cueto's shutout was his second of the season, both against San
Diego. He also had a 1-0 win over the Padres the last time they
visited in April, although he allowed seven hits in his nine innings
that time around.
He has pitched three complete games this season, all against the
Padres.
Cueto (7-1) struck out six and did not walk a batter Monday in
becoming the first Giant since Jason Schmidt in 2004 to win at least
seven of his first 10 starts of a season.
"It's great to get Cueto a win there. He deserved it," Bochy said.
"He's got great savvy out there with great stuff. He's one of those
guys who can turn it up a notch out there when he needs to."
Cueto retired 27 of the 30 batters he faced. The only hits he
allowed were a fourth-inning single by Kemp after he retired the
first 11 Padres in order, and a two-out single by Amarista in the
eighth.
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Amarista's hit put the only Padre of the game in scoring position,
as it followed Alexei Ramirez getting hit by a pitch on the forearm.
With runners on first and third, Cueto went to a full count on pinch
hitter Yangervis Solarte before striking him out looking.
"Things are not working out the way we want. We've played them seven
times and we haven't won one of them," Padres manager Andy Green
said. "The hitting has not kept up its end of the bargain. We have
to raise the bar."
Cueto lowered his ERA to 2.38.
For most of the night, Cueto matched pitches with Padres left-hander
Drew Pomeranz.
Pomeranz continued a brilliant May with seven shutout innings,
allowing only two hits. He walked four and struck out four.
Pomeranz improved his May ERA to 0.87 in five starts and lowered his
ERA for the season to 1.70, third best in the National League behind
the Chicago Cubs' Jake Arrieta (1.29) and Los Angeles Dodgers'
Clayton Kershaw (1.48).
"Drew Pomeranz was outstanding, the bullpen was outstanding," Green
said. "We gotta push runs across the board. Drew was great. There's
nothing more you can ask from him."
Pomeranz's 1.70 ERA is the third lowest ever for a Padre through the
first nine starts of a season, trailing only Randy Jones (1.54 in
1975) and Jake Peavy (1.64 in 2007).
NOTES: The walk-off win was the Giants' fourth of the season. ...
The last time the Giants won consecutive 1-0 games was Aug. 27 and
29, 1980. ... Giants LF Angel Pagan (strained left hamstring) left
the game in the ninth inning after trying to run out a groundball.
He will have an MRI exam Tuesday. ... Giants 1B Brandon Belt
replaced Pagan in left field, having to borrow a regular fielder's
glove from LHP Javier Lopez. ... After using six relievers for a
total of 12 innings Sunday, the Padres added a reinforcement to the
bullpen Monday by promoting LHP Keith Hessler from Triple-A El Paso.
Starter RHP Colin Rea, who wasn't going to be used this week because
of an off day on Thursday, was sent to El Paso to create a roster
spot for Hessler. ... The Padres will need to make another move
Tuesday when RHP Andrew Cashner (strained right hamstring) is
expected to be activated from the disabled list and start Game 2 of
the series. ... Giants RHP Sergio Romo (strained right flexor) began
a rehab stint at Triple-A Sacramento on Monday. The plan was for him
to pitch five times in eight days before the club considers
activating him from the DL next week.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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