Johnny Cueto Countdown, Part V

'Game Score' is a metric devised by baseball historian and stat guru Bill James to reflect how good a pitcher's performance was beyond just runs allowed.

Per Baseball Reference, Game Score is calculated like so:

Start with 50 points. Add 1 point for each out recorded, (or 3 points per inning). Add 2 points for each inning completed after the 4th. Add 1 point for each strikeout. Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed. Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed. Subtract 2 points for each unearned run allowed. Subtract 1 point for each walk.

In the eight seasons and 209 starts that Johnny Cueto has made as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, he's posted numerous impressive Game Scores, but twice he's been above and beyond his usual dominant self, both times logging the same exact score of 93.  It probably won't surprise you that both of those performances came against the one team he has owned more than any other:  the Pittsburgh Pirates.  One of those starts was chronicled in the first of the Cueto Countdown series - his April 16, 2014 start in GABP where he threw a complete game, 3 hit, 12 K ringer - and in honor of his scheduled start Tuesday against the Washington Nationals (and fellow ace Max Scherzer), today we look back at his May 11, 2010 start against those same Pirates.

This time, the Reds were in Pittsburgh, and a not-yet-dreadlocked Cueto came about as close to a complete shutdown of an opponent as possible.  Johnny tossed a complete game one-hitter, walked nobody, and struck out eight Pirates in a near Madduxian 102 pitches, and he can even claim that Pittsburgh's lone hit - a single by Ronny Cedeno - was a grounder that banged off the glove of Paul Janish at SS.  He also later hit Cedeno with a pitch, but thanks to some clutch catching from Ramon Hernandez, Cedeno was thrown out trying to steal that same inning.  Jay Bruce tripled and drove in three, Joey Votto doubled and drove in two, and the Cincinnati bats blasted 15 hits to back Cueto to a 9-0 victory over Charlie Morton and the Bucs.

Here's the super detailed RR Recap from that bit of Cueto excellence (thanks Gray!), should you have the time to read through it.

And, as always, here's video of Cueto slicing eyeballs:

Savor each Cueto start, since he's got just Tuesday's & Sunday's scheduled before the All Star break.  After that, who knows.