Johnny Cueto had the daunting task of shutting down baseball's best offense in his Kansas City Royals debut, and he didn't disappoint.
The newly acquired right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out seven over six innings to earn a no-decision Friday in a 7-6 extra-innings loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
"You've got to execute every pitch with a lineup like this," Cueto said postgame via a translator. "You make a mistake, and you're going to get hurt. You've just got to make sure you're executing pitch to pitch."
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
Cueto, sporting a new-look goatee, tossed 111 pitches before turning the ball over to Kansas City's bullpen with a 6-3 lead, which quickly evaporated in the bottom half of the seventh when the Blue Jays rallied for three runs.
Josh Donaldson's walk-off single in the 11th inning officially spoiled Cueto's bid for his first win as a Royal.
Related: Donaldson walks off yet again in Blue Jays' extra-innings win
"He did a great job in his first start here," Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain said. "Unfortunately we didn't hold the lead there at the end."
Cueto's next scheduled start is Thursday in Detroit.