Giants send Johnny Cueto to DL

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Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto, who went 3-0 with an 0.84 ERA in the first month of the season, was placed on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation Tuesday night.

The move made room on the roster for Tuesday’s starter, Andrew Suarez, but it came as a surprise. Cueto topped the National League in opponents’ batting average (.150) and WHIP (0.69) in April and was coming off an 8-3 victory over the Dodgers on Saturday.

Manager Bruce Bochy said Cueto has felt soreness in his pitching elbow during his past two starts, which certainly wasn’t evident in the results. The right-hander won both games and allowed only two runs in 12 innings.

“To show you what a competitor he is, he felt it a little bit the past couple of starts, but there’s nobody who’s been pitching better in the game,” Bochy said. “This was not good news for us.

“But you know what? You find a way.”

Cueto is expected to undergo an MRI exam Wednesday and be evaluated by doctors before the Giants release a timetable for his return.

From left: San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40), wearing a wrist guard, and Carl Kochan, who is the Giants strength and conditioning coach, chat before an MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park, Tuesday, April 10, 2018, in San Francisco, Calif. less From left: San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40), wearing a wrist guard, and Carl Kochan, who is the Giants strength and conditioning coach, chat before an MLB game between the San ... more Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Giants send Johnny Cueto to DL 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Progress report: Madison Bumgarner was cleared Tuesday to start throwing this weekend, the most significant development in the lefty’s recovery since he had three pins removed from his fractured pitching hand April 19.

The four-time All-Star got the go-ahead from hand specialist Dr. Donald Sheridan in Arizona and is expected to throw three or four times on flat ground before progressing to work on the mound, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

Bumgarner, who broke his left pinkie after being hit by a comebacker off the bat of the Royals’ Whit Merrifield in the final Cactus League game March 23, isn’t eligible to return from the 60-day disabled list until May 25.

“He’s a smart kid, and he’s not a kid,” Bochy said of Bumgarner. “He knows he has to go through like a spring Ttraining. You can’t rush this too much, as much as he wants to get back.”

Green light: Bochy said he wasn’t upset that second baseman Alen Hanson tried to steal third base with two outs in Monday night’s game — a play that would have resulted in a baseball sin of making the third out at third base, if Gorkys Hernandez hadn’t struck out to end the inning before Hanson was tagged out.

“With his speed, if he can get a jump,” Bochy said, “that’s part of his arsenal.”

Other injuries: Closer Mark Melancon, who is eligible to return from an elbow flexor strain May 25, will throw a light bullpen session Saturday. , … Outfielder Hunter Pence, who is rehabbing a right thumb sprain, was given Tuesday off with Triple-A Sacramento. Bochy said Pence is day-to-day, and there’s no target date for his return to the Giants.

Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.