The San Francisco Giants signed Jeff Samardzija to a five-year, $90 million contract this offseason despite the right-hander's 4.96 ERA during the 2015 MLB season. His debut with the team did not go well on Wednesday, but nobody should be worried just yet.
Samardzija faced a familiar foe in the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday and allowed three earned runs on eight hits and three walks over 5-1/3 innings. He struck out six, but the Giants lost 4-3 and his outing probably got many worked up about the contract that he received in the offseason.
Some fans might've said: "He gets $90 million after a career-worst season and then follows it up with a bad debut?!"
Or this from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times:
"Samardzija is no sure thing, either, as the $90-million right-hander was 11-13 with a 4.96 ERA last season with the Chicago White Sox. The former All-Star made his Giants debut Wednesday in Milwaukee and it was more of the same for him, as he was charged with three runs and eight hits over 5 1/3 innings."
Yes, that could be a bit concerning at first, especially since he already had a bad spring training (6.00 ERA in seven starts), but there's a full season ahead and his first matchup of the season wasn't favorable for him, even though the Brewers are among the worst teams in baseball.
The fact of the matter is that he's just not great against the Brewers, nor has he been successful at Miller Park.
Jeff Samardzija had to battle through 5 1/3 innings. He'll remain winless in seven career starts at Miller Park.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) April 6, 2016
Chris Carter (4) has now homered more times against Jeff Samardzija than any other MLB player. Four others have 3 HR (including Ryan Braun).
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 6, 2016
Samardzija spent seven years with the Chicago Cubs and he's pretty familiar with Milwaukee, but his success is limited. The 31-year-old is 2-6 with a 4.82 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 71 strikeouts in 24 games (10 starts), totaling 74-2/3 innings against the Brewers, which explains his lackluster debut.
He maintained a 3.97 ERA during his tenure with the Cubs, so it's clearly not going to be this bad as he continues to face National League opponents as a member of the Giants.
There were ups and downs with his debut, but the worries shouldn't be mounting after just one start.
