Bob Lutz: Cueto returns to the enigma he’s mostly been for Kansas City

Johnny Cueto strolled off the mound at the Rogers Centre on Monday night after getting shelled by the Toronto Blue Jays as if he was listening to a Chris Rock comedy routine.

As the Blue Jays’ sellout crowd heckled him — and Cueto is almost always ripe for heckling — he took a wad of gum out of his mouth and threw it on the artificial turf. Then he smiled, perhaps even giggled.

It had to be a comforting sight for Royals fans who are still confused about whether to love Cueto or be repelled by him. Certainly his Game 5 performance against Houston last week in the ALDS — two hits, two runs, eight strikeouts, eight superb innings in a series-clinching 7-2 win — earned some respect.

But Cueto was rocked Monday by a suddenly-wide-awake Toronto lineup. He gave up six hits in two innings. He walked four. And he allowed eight runs, all earned, as the Blue Jays stormed their way back into the ALCS with an 11-8 win. Kansas City still has a 2-1 lead in the series, but the psychology has changed, even though the Royals are still in that never-say-die mode as their four-run ninth proved.

At least Cueto left with his sense of humor in tact. Even after arriving in the dugout after allowing the first five Toronto hitters to reach base in the third inning, Cueto did everything but replace his baseball hat with a party hat and tell knock-knock jokes.

The big blow against Cueto was a three-run homer by Toronto shortstop Troy Tulowitzki that gave Toronto a 6-1 lead. But even that wasn’t the end of the line for Cueto, who followed with a walk to Russell Martin and then gave up an RBI double to Kevin Pillar.

I doubt many Royals faithful were finding the humor in keeping Cueto in the game so long. It was as if KC manager Ned Yost slept through all of his team’s dramatic postseason comebacks, including three franchise-changing rallies in the past couple of weeks.

This time, though, the uphill climb was too steep.

Perhaps if Yost had gone to right-handed reliever Kris Medlen sooner, before Cueto had put the two runners on base following Tulowitzki’s blast, things would have been different. Medlen got two quick outs before allowing a two-run homer to Josh Donaldson that made it 8-1.

Yost, though, tipped his hand about bullpen use before Monday’s game when he talked about how it was important to protect bullpen arms with three upcoming games in three days.

He obviously didn’t know Cueto was not going to record an out in the third inning when he addressed the bullpen issue.

It’s not official, but if there is an ALCS Game 7, it’ll be Cueto’s turn to pitch.

It would be at Kauffman Stadium, though, where Cueto was last seen receiving a standing ovation as he smiled at the adulation bestowed upon him. Cueto’s rough couple of months in Kansas City after a trade-deadline deal with the Cincinnati Reds was a thing of the past.

Now it’s smack dab a part of the present and perhaps future. How can the Royals trust a pitcher who doesn’t seem fully engaged? There’s something to be said for a player who doesn’t allow the weight of the world to bury him beneath the pressure of a situation.

The Royals, meanwhile, are still in good shape in the series, especially after getting 15 hits against four Toronto pitchers in Game 3. Realistically, they need to get one of the next two games in Toronto and that would allow them to return to Kansas City needing just one win to wrap up the ALCS with two games to do so.

After Monday, though, do the Royals really want to risk a Game 7 with Cueto on the mound?

There will be those who do, given Cueto’s masterful performance against the Astros last Wednesday night. He retired the final 19 Houston hitters he faced after Luis Valbuena’s two-run homer in the second inning.

Monday night, he retired six of the 17 Toronto hitters he faced. He struck out two in a scoreless first inning before things went haywire.

As Cueto strode toward the dugout after being pulled in the third, the Toronto crowd chanted “We Want Cueto.” They kept it up as he joked around with teammates from the top step of the Royals’ dugout.

It was a strange scene, but Cueto often gives off a confusing vibe. Is he as disconnected as he seems? Or is there a fire burning that we just can’t make out?

If there’s an ALCS Game 7, it’s likely Cueto will get another chance. And he’ll have a chance to get the last laugh.

This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 10:59 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Cueto returns to the enigma he’s mostly been for Kansas City."