SAN FRANCISCO -- By Johnny Cueto’s estimation, there was a clear winner in his faceoffs with former Giants teammate Eduardo Núñez during a series of live bullpen sessions in the Dominican Republic last month.

“Me,” Cueto said Monday, chuckling.

The veteran right-hander returned home after the coronavirus pandemic suspended Spring Training operations in March, but his friendly competitions with Núñez helped keep his arm sharp during the ensuing three-month shutdown.

“We were teammates here in San Francisco, so he would call me and say, “Get ready to pitch to me Wednesday,’” Cueto said. “I was throwing every five days like I would during the season. And I told him, 'You come ready because I’m going to strike you out.’”

Cueto said Núñez, who spent parts of two seasons with the Giants before being traded to the Red Sox for Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos at the 2017 Trade Deadline, never made hard contact and only hit foul balls.

“I killed him,” Cueto said.

• Cueto vs. Núñez on Instagram

Cueto spent his first 14 days in the Dominican Republic under quarantine after flying in from the United States and said the local government imposed strict curfews to enforce shelter-in-place orders around the country. Cueto said he tried to protect his family by isolating at home for most of the hiatus.

“I could go out if I wanted to, but I chose not to,” Cueto said. “I didn’t want to contract the virus and bring it home and pass it on to my kids.”

Cueto continued to work out regularly and impressed manager Gabe Kapler with his conditioning when he reported to Oracle Park for Summer Camp last week.

“His arm and his legs are in great shape,” Kapler said. “He was out to 300-plus feet, really getting after it [during long toss], and then he came back in and had a flat-ground session with [bullpen catcher] Taira [Uematsu] where he was delivering all of his pitches with intensity and focus.”

Kapler had named Cueto the Giants’ Opening Day starter back in March, but he said Sunday that he would use the next few weeks to gauge the shape of the pitching staff before finalizing any decision on who will get the ball against the Dodgers on July 23.

“We're right on track,” Kapler said. “We'll build our pitchers up as much as we possibly can to kind of build their volume and see where we are around Opening Day. The first thing we want to do before we make any declarations is get everybody's live batting-practice sessions under their belt and start our sim games, and some of our intrasquads before we make any declarations.”

While many players have expressed reservations about playing through a pandemic this year, Cueto said he’s already shown he’s willing to move forward with the 2020 campaign.

“It’s a very difficult situation,” Cueto said. “I’m scared for my family like everyone else is, but I’m already here. I made a commitment. I flew in from the Dominican, which is pretty far away. I’m here. I’m going to stay here. I’m going to give it my all and we’ll see what happens.”