Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto stays in the game after line drive hits him in the head [Video]

Johnny Cueto is a lucky guy.

At first on Monday night, though, it didn’t seem that way. San Francisco’s prized free-agent pickup from the off-season had just thrown his first pitch of the Giants’ spring training game against Oakland when Athletics batter Billy Burns smacked a line drive that hit Cueto in the forehead.

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The lucky part is that the pitcher showed no signs of a concussion. After being examined by trainers, Cueto was allowed to stay in the game and finish his scheduled three innings of work. After that, he went straight from the game in Mesa, Ariz., to the team’s spring training facility in Scottsdale and received treatment for a bruise.

“He responded well out there, that’s why he stayed in the game,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said after the 10-2 loss to Oakland. “He answered all the questions [trainer] Dave Groeschner checked him with. He wanted to stay out there, but after he came out, we wanted to be cautious and have the doctors look at him back at our complex.”

The Giants plan to monitor Cueto throughout Tuesday to make sure no signs of a concussion appear.

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It was definitely a scary moment when the ball struck Cueto, knocking his cap off and momentarily dropping him to all fours. Still, he didn’t look to bad once he continued pitching. Cueto gave up three runs on five hits, including a three-run home run to Josh Reddick in the first inning, striking out two and walking one.

“There’s nothing that scares me more than that, that line drive up the middle,” Bochy said. “First night game, first pitch of the game. I was up as soon as it touched him, and I’m hoping it was what it was, more of a glancing blow. Still, it caught him pretty good.”

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