Jeff Samardzija showed just how eager he was to put a disappointing May behind him when he opened June with the kind of outing he delivered at the start of the season.
When the right-hander heads into Saturday’s outing against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, he will carry with him the momentum from an impressive showing against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, when he gave up one run on three hits over six innings.
Samardzija (3-4, 3.61 ERA) also will enter off his first victory since April 23 against the Toronto Blue Jays. One outing later, on April 29, he kept the Dodgers off balance by giving up just two hits over five scoreless innings, throwing just 79 pitches. He ended the night — a 3-2 Giants win — with a no-decision.
Getting the chance to throw 110 pitches against the Orioles was more Samardzija’s speed. He made it known after the game that he would appreciate the chance to extend himself more instead of being limited like he has most of the year.
“This just in,” Samardzija said after his start at Baltimore, while in full sarcasm mode, “I get better and throw harder later in the game. It’s been like that my whole career, and it’s always going to be that way.”
That he was able to handle the predominantly left-handed Dodgers’ lineup in April comes as no surprise. Left-handed hitters are batting just .204 against him this season, compared to right-handed hitters, who are batting .252. Right-handers have only 10 more at-bats against him in 62 1/3 total innings.
Like this season — where he has pitched relatively well without much to show for it — Samardzija has a career 3.59 ERA against the Dodgers in nine appearances (seven starts) but just a 1-4 record.
Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill (2-1, 2.25) will get the call opposite Samardzija. Hill also has been extended of late. His first outing did not come until April 28 because of a knee injury, and only in his last two outings has he been extended past the 100-pitch mark.
Hill definitely earned the opportunity, holding the Philadelphia Phillies to no runs over seven innings with nine strikeouts and just three hits on Sunday. And there was a familiar theme to Hill’s outing, as there was to Samardzija’s most recent trip to the mound.
“Actually, I thought he was getting better as the game went on,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Hill’s win against the Phillies. “The fastball continued to have that life that we like, and he was just on the attack all day. Kept those guys guessing, and just that feel of his breaking ball today and the fastball played really well.”
Hill, who is 7-2 with a 2.26 ERA in 14 career starts against the Giants, will have a unique challenge ahead of him Saturday: He will try to get the Dodgers a victory a day after Clayton Kershaw took a loss. The last time Kershaw lost a game before Friday’s 2-1 defeat at San Francisco was July 21 of last season at Milwaukee.
The Dodgers are also coming off consecutive defeats for the first time since April 23-24 against the Chicago Cubs. Still the Giants have defeated the Dodgers three times over their last four meetings.