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Giants remove Cueto from start with groin strain in MLB

San Francisco Giants ace Johnny Cueto needed to be removed from his start against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a strained groin.

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San Francisco Giants ace Johnny Cueto needed to be removed from his start against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a strained groin.

Cueto was making easy work of Dodgers batters through 5.1 shut-out innings when he walked Andrew Toles with a ball in the dirt.

While coming up from his follow through, Cueto grimaced in discomfort and called for a trainer. He attempted to stretch his left leg before leaving for the clubhouse.

The Giants announced the injury an inning later.

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That was barely three innings after starting shortstop Brandon Crawford exited with a dislocated left pinky finger after sliding head first into third base.

Cueto's exit forced Giants manager Bruce Bochy to turn to his embattled bullpen earlier than anticipated once again.

Just 24 hours earlier the Dodgers scored twice in the ninth inning for a walk-off win that spoiled a Madison Bumgarner gem.

Owners of baseball's best record before the All-Star break (57-33), the Giants have gone an MLB-worst 22-38 since thanks in large part to struggles in the bullpen and, namely, closer Santiago Casilla.

They held a 1.5-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the final wild-card spot entering Tuesday's games.

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Losing a starter of Cueto's ilk for any duration at this stage of the season would be detrimental.

The 30-year-old is 16-5 this year after signing a $130million free-agent deal in the offseason. He has a 2.79 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 212.2 innings.

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