SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Johnny Cueto made his first Cactus League start Saturday at a sold-out Scottsdale Stadium that included someone special in his life.

His father, Domingo, saw him pitch in person for the first time in a big-league uniform.

“I think today was the first time,” said the younger Cueto, adding the only previous games were on television in the Dominican Republic.

The elder Cueto, 71, had a mini-stroke in the Dominican and spent 10 days in a hospital, prompting his son’s late spring training arrival. They’re staying together in Arizona and will stay together in San Francisco.

In fact, Johnny received some fatherly advice Friday on the eve of his debut.

“Last night, he was giving me a pep talk,” Cueto said. “It’s 11 o’clock, and he’s telling me, ‘You’ve got to go to sleep. You’ve got to go pitch tomorrow.’”

Cueto, who pitched two innings, seems to be leaning against playing in the later rounds of the World Baseball Classic. Not just because he hasn’t worked his pitch count up, but because of his father’s health.

“I need to pitch more,” Cueto said. “I don’t want to go to out there and make a fool out of myself or embarrass myself. When you go to a tournament like that, you want to make sure not only you have a lot of energy but your arm feels OK and you have all your pitches.

“I might not be ready. For as much as I’d like to represent my country, I also have to make sure I’m ready to go out there and pitch.

“There’s a lot of things to consider. My dad, I have to consider that, too.”

Manager Bruce Bochy seems fine with Cueto skipping the WBC.

“I would be concerned for him, to be honest, at this stage,” Bochy said. “He’s missing time. He’s not quite ready. To ramp it up that quick and pitch with that intensity, I think you’re asking for trouble.”

Cueto pitched two innings against the Reds. His first, he surrendered three hits including an RBI double to Adam Duvall, and picked off Tony Renda at first base.

His second inning was perfect.

“I felt good, but at the same time it’s been a while since I got up on the mound, so I felt a little bit awkward,” Cueto said.

As for the pickoff — an area in which he’s one of the best in the business — he said it’s not something he practices.

“I think it is just like a natural instinct,” Cueto said. “I was up there and something told me, ‘Just go to first,’ and I did.”

First baseman Michael Morse said, “I couldn’t believe how fast that was. The guy wasn’t even far off the bag. That was pretty awesome. To get a guy out after he got a hit, how huge is that for a pitcher?”

Cueto threw his fastball and changeup, not his curve or cutter.

Nor did he display his shimmy or back-to-the-batter windup.

“Not yet,” he said. “Soon.”

John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer.

Giants 9, Reds 7

Diamondbacks 5, Giants 1

Notable: At Scottsdale Stadium, Michael Morse hit two homers against Cincinnati’s Scott Feldman, including one that cleared the batter’s eye — the gigantic green wall about 30 feet high in center field. “One of the hardest balls I’ve ever seen hit,” Bruce Bochy said. “That was a 3-wood off the deck. I mean, he smoked it.” Bochy said he’ll play Morse in left field soon. ... Jae-gyun Hwang hit his third homer, Conor Gillaspie his second. ... Third baseman Eduardo Nuñez, who opened camp with a sore shoulder, played his second game defensively and went 1-for-3. ... In the battle for the final rotation spot, Matt Cain gave up four runs in his first inning against the Reds (Adam Duvall hit a two-run homer) and one in the next two. Against the Diamondbacks, Ty Blach gave up two runs on five hits in 22/3 innings.

Quotable: “The first inning didn’t look very good, but I wasn’t missing by much, and that’s a good thing. When you’re all over the place, you get worried about things. There are a lot of things I can build off.”

— Cain on his fourth outing of spring training. He has a 9.58 ERA.

Sunday’s game: Giants vs. Diamondbacks at Scottsdale Stadium, 1:05 p.m.

— John Shea