He plays a little Luis Tiant hide-and-seek, turning his back to a batter and glancing at the gods. Sometimes he shuffles out a shoulder shimmy-shake. And when you’re not paying attention, he zips a slide-step pitch past you in a blink.
Cincinnati Reds ace Johnny Cueto pitches any which way but loose. He’s a dread-locked, hard-throwing, cocked-and-ready elite arm. And every team in baseball wants him.
Saturday, he drew a crowd of scouts to Coors Field to watch what may have been his final start for the Reds. With the trade deadline arriving Friday, Cueto is at the top of the wish list. His start in LoDo seemed to be an audition.
Cueto mowed down the Rockies over eight easy innings as the Reds won 5-2 before 41,998 fans.
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“He’s an elite pitcher. That’s why there are a lot of teams chasing him around right now,” Colorado manager Walt Weiss said.
Cueto faced just four batters more than the minimum through eight innings. He gave up only four hits. He threw 100 pitches, including 68 for strikes. He struck out five and issued one walk.
“You’ll see him try to upset a hitter’s rhythm,” Weiss said. “He does it really well. He has a few different deliveries. He’s very clever how he attacks hitters. He has the arsenal too. And the savvy to carve up lineups.”
All the legitimate contenders for postseason play want Cueto in their rotation. His 2.62 ERA ranks 10th in the National League this season. But his 2.53 ERA since 2011 ranks second in baseball, behind only the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw. And his contract is up at the end of the season. He’s a perfect three-month rental pitcher for a team with World Series ambition.
“It’s got to be distracting. These guys are only human,” Weiss said. “That uncertainty of where you’re going, with all the rumors, it’s got to be tough to deal with. Some guys use it as motivation, maybe elevate their game. But at some level, it has to be a distraction. It’s all about how guys deal with it.
“Cueto seems pretty unflappable.”
Against the Rockies, Cueto (7-6) didn’t allow a runner to reach second base. No batter had multiple hits against him. Carlos Gonzalez, Nolan Arenado, Corey Dickerson and Drew Stubbs all singled, but never in the same inning.
The Reds hit through their lineup twice in the first three innings. In a long top of the third, Rockies starter Chris Rusin allowed seven hits — matching his total in six innings last week in a start against Texas.
Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier pulled a home run-distance foul ball off Rusin just outside the left-field pole in the third inning. Bummer for him. But on the next pitch, Frazier pushed a fair-ball homer to right. It was a three-run shot that put the Reds ahead 4-0.
In the fourth, Reds speedster Billy Hamilton scored from third after Tulowitzki fielded a grounder and threw out Joey Votto at first. Hamilton broke for home and slid face-first past catcher Nick Hundley.
“They did a good job of working counts,” Rusin said. “Then they singled me to death.”
Rusin gave up five runs (four earned) and 10 hits through five innings. He threw 92 pitches.
With his 100th pitch — perhaps his last in a Reds jersey — Cueto struck out Charlie Blackmon on an 85 mph changeup.
“He’s one of the best pitchers in the game,” said Rockies all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.
Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nickgroke
