Kansas City Royals: Looking back at Johnny Cueto trade two years later

Johnny Cueto was disappointing during the regular season and fans were panicking.

“We traded Finnegan for this?” was a common question that seemed to be tweeted during that span. People weren’t happy with what Cueto was giving them and it was scary to picture him pitching in a playoff game, as fans just didn’t know what to expect with him.

The Kansas City Royals went on to win their division in September and eventually won the top seed in the American League. They’d see the winner of the AL Wild Card Game, which turned out to be the fiery Houston Astros.

Cueto took the mound in Games 2 and 5 of the ALDS and we saw different Cuetos take the mound in both games. In Game 2, Cueto was bad. He might have made it through six innings, but was rocked for four runs. Fortunately for Cueto, the Royals offense bailed him out and the team evened the series at one game a piece.

Johnny Cueto responded to the pressure by pitching a gem of a game.

We all know that the Kansas City Royals were only five outs away from being eliminated by the Astros in the 2015 postseason. The boys in blue managed to come back in Game 4 and force a series-deciding Game 5 in Kansas City, which would be started by none other than Johnny Cueto. To say that fans were terrified would be an understatement. Which Cueto would they be relying on to extend their season?

Johnny Cueto responded to the pressure by pitching a gem of a game. He threw eight innings of two-run baseball and sent the Royals to their second consecutive ALCS. Honestly, Cueto could have thrown a complete game, but Ned Yost didn’t want to gloat, and did the safe thing by sending Wade Davis out to shut things down. The Royals won 7-2.