Samardzija ‘letting it go’ from mound
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Jeff Samardzija’s health is one of the more understated stories of camp. The Giants’ chances of competing in 2019, or even attracting younger players in midseason trades, would be enhanced if Samardzija can prove he has overcome the shoulder injury that wrecked his 2018 season.
The Shark took a big step Tuesday, throwing to hitters for the first time since an Aug. 24 rehab start in Bowie, Md., that ended in another setback.
On Tuesday, he threw 25 pitches, plus warm-ups, on the first day of live batting practice. He used all of his pitches and is throwing well enough to earn a chance to pitch in the Cactus League the first time through the rotation.
“He was letting it go,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s not hesitating at all.”
Samardzija was offered a chance to throw one more side session, but asked to face hitters. He said he threw with “no pain, no restrictions,” as he tries to restore the arm slot that became too painful to use because of the injury, which limited him to 10 starts and yielded a 6.25 ERA.
“I’m just trying to get back into that mental feeling,” Samardzija said. “As a pitcher, you’ve done it so many times. You know how it feels. I just want to get back to that nice easy release.”
Samardzija’s winter and early spring have gone well, but even team insiders have said privately that they need to see him get through games without discomfort before they can exhale and declare his strength and rehabilitation work a success.
He views spring training as a track with eight hurdles: one bullpen, one “heavy” bullpen, live batting practice and five exhibition games.
“If you jump over all eight of those hurdles, then you’re there,” Samardzija said. “But until then, there’s obviously going to be a little uncertainty on people’s part, not from my own, because my mentality is to go all-in and get it right.” Bart up: The first pitcher to throw batting practice on the main Scottsdale Stadium mound was Madison Bumgarner. The first hitter to step in was catching prospect Joey Bart, even though the group included Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, Pablo Sandoval and Steven Duggar.
“The group made him hit first,” Bochy said. “They wanted to make sure Bum wasn’t going to throw one way in on the first pitch, so they put the kid up there to wear it.”
Bochy made it clear he was joking before adding, “I’m sure Joey was very excited to face Bum on the first day, just like he was to catch him.”
Bart did not make much contact, which is not unusual for the first live BP. The one hitter who did find the sweet spot against Bumgarner a few times was Sandoval.