Giants notes: Cueto, Samardzija switch places; Posey fine

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NEW YORK -- Up until this morning, the Giants were officially listing Jeff Samardzija as the Saturday starter. Oops! 

Turns out Samardzija and Johnny Cueto were swapped earlier this week and Cueto was preparing for this day all along, but there was a miscommunication in getting the info to the public. No big deal, and it gets the Giants back to their old rotation, with Madison Bumgarner and Cueto lined up to go one-two. With the NL West closer than it was at the break, it could make a tiny difference at some point. 

"(Cueto) is still getting the extra day (of rest), so we said that as long as he came out of his last start fine, we would move him back behind Bum," Bochy said. 

Cueto was sick during All-Star week and had some side discomfort before his start at Petco Park, but he's ready to go today. If anything has bothered him this week, it wasn't the virus.

Details on this are a bit hazy, but it sounds like Cueto was not invited to visit the White House with the rest of the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. He hoped to go and he would have gone, since the Giants were off that day and he was already on the East Coast, a short flight away. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported last weekend that Jonny Gomes was crushed when he didn't receive an invite. Here's what Rosenthal wrote about Kansas City's decision:

"Royals general manager Dayton Moore said that the White House restricted the number of employees who could attend, and that ownership and the team's decision-makers established a policy to determine who would be eligible for the trip. The Royals decided to include only players who were with the team for the entire season or members of their postseason roster. Gomes, who currently is a free agent after returning from an abbreviated stint in Japan, did not meet either criteria."

Gomes was not on the postseason roster, but was an inspirational figure for that team. Cueto ... well, he only pitched Game 2 of the World Series, giving up two hits in a complete game victory. 

--- Buster Posey came out of last night's game after taking a foul ball off the right foot and he said he was pretty sore. But Posey felt good when he woke up this morning, and the foot loosened up even more when he came to the park and got treatment. So, he's in there, and he's catching Cueto. 

--- Mac Williamson has mostly faced left-handers, but he'll see righty Ivan Nova today. 

"He had a great at-bat last night," Bochy said. "He's thrown out some pretty good at-bats. I think we can use a little more punch. We're not a power-hitting club, but we could use a little more."

--- Hunter Pence will play six innings for Triple-A Sacramento today and then seven on Sunday. He'll take Monday off and then resume the rehab process. Joe Panik got checked out again by a doctor and the report was good, so he could be back in the River Cats lineup in a couple days. He's currently in Sacramento doing baseball work. 

Finally, Cory Gearrin will face hitters on Sunday in Arizona. The next step would be a rehab appearance. 

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