Levine: Jeff Samardzija Gets 1st Win With White Sox
By Bruce Levine--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It took four starts and a gutty performance for Jeff Samardzija to garner his first win as a member of the White Sox. Though he tossed six shutout innings Wednesday in Chicago's 6-0 win against Cleveland, the road to victory wasn't a pretty one for Samardzija (1-1), who threw 113 pitches in chilly weather at U.S. Cellular Field.
Samardzija allowed six hits and walked two while striking out three.
"My ball was off the plate away," Samardzija said. "The frustrating thing was that I did not have the velocity that I like to have. When my velocity is down, I seem to have more movement on my pitches. I certainly wasn't hitting my spots away to left-handed hitters. That is the battle you go through every (start), trying to figure out what is working and what is not."
In the early going, Samardzija wasn't getting any border-line calls to left-handed hitters. His command of his cutter was suspect in the first three innings, through which he expended 65 pitches.
"I give credit to all the guys for playing great behind me," Samardzija said. "Geo (Soto) did a great job of getting me back on the plate to use some off-speed pitches to keep that pitch count somewhat manageable."
Prior to Wednesday, Samardzija had last won a game in September 2014 as a member of the Oakland A's. The White Sox finally scored some runs on Wednesday in support of Samardzija, who made 19 starts last year in which he received two runs or fewer of support.
"With Jeff, he knows how to take something off and get it over when he doesn't have a great fastball," Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. "He was able to get ahead with off-speed stuff and get ahead. He was getting them to ground out and pop up."
Samardzija has put an impressive streak together. He has thrown 10 straight scoreless innings and allowed only one run in his last 19 innings pitched.
"I had plenty of practice in the Detroit game (his previous start) getting in and out of stuff," he said. "The lead I had today allowed me to pound the zone despite having sub-par stuff. It is all about proving yourself to these guys. You get new teammates, so you went to come out here and prove your worth to them."
A northwest Indiana native, the 30-year-old Samardzija is 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA this season. He's making $9.75 million in 2015 and will be eligible for free agent status in November. The smart money is on him staying in Chicago, especially if the White Sox and Cubs are competitive in the bidding for his services. The price will likely be more $20 million a year if he puts up his usual 200-inning, 200-strikeout numbers.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
