Reds' Johnny Cueto irked by balk calls

Of Johnny Cueto's many talents on the mound, his ability to control the running game is near the top. It wasn't the Brewers that neutralized that during Wednesday's 2-1 win in Milwaukee, instead it was first base umpire Angel Hernandez who did.

Hernandez made two dubious balk calls against Cueto, including one that led to a run.

Cueto walked Brewers second baseman Elian Herrera with one out in the first inning and then was called for a balk with Ryan Braun at the plate.

Braun eventually struck out, but the next batter - first baseman Adam Lind - hit a bouncer through the hole at second base to allow Herrera to score easily from first and tie the game at 1.

Cueto gave up a one-out hit to Gerardo Parra in the second, and once again Hernandez called him for a balk. This time Cueto appeared to get upset before catcher Brayan Pena came out to calm him down.

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Both times Hernandez mimed that Cueto had bent his knee before making the move to first. This time, though, Cueto got out of the inning and no damage was done.

"I don't understand, I've got to check the videos because I don't see anything wrong," Cueto said after his win, according to Tomas Vera. "Every pitcher does the same thing. I've been doing this for a long time. I really don't know. I'm going to check it."

Reds manager Bryan Price said he hadn't seen the video and wouldn't comment on the validity of the two calls.

"The interpretation from our understanding — you can't argue a balk call — our understanding was he was buckling his left knee and when you start a pick-off move as a right-handed pitcher, it has to start with the right foot," Price said. "I have not looked at any video. I've seen Johnny's move a million times, he's got a great move, he's got quick feet, so I really have nothing to say whether it's a good call or not. We won the game. It's never been an issue before and I don't anticipate it being an issue in the future."

Cueto was called for one balk last season and had just eight in his eight-year big-league career before Wednesday.