By the slimmest of margins, the Giants have their first second-half series win. Jeff Samardzija (10-8, 4.23 ERA) dazzled for 5 2/3 innings, shutting out the Marlins to pick up his first win in more than a month. The Giants won, 1-0, and will hold a share of first place in the National League West for at least another day. Here’s more on a much-needed win.
The big moment
It was only a flyout, but it came from one of the game’s most powerful hitters against a pitcher with a penchant for the long ball. Giancarlo Stanton pinch hit in the fifth inning with two on and two outs, a moment that felt pivotal not only in Wednesday’s game, but going forward for Samardzija in the second half.
At times this year he’s become too predictable with his fastball, allowing hitters to clobber it when it’s left up. So Samardzija never threw Stanton a heater. He unfurled five straight sliders to induce a medium fly ball to center field. Inning over. Threat over.
At the plate
A 1-0 game doesn’t lend itself to a lot of big swings. The Giants tallied six hits but only one affected the final score. Crawford unloaded on a full-count change up, lining it just over the right field wall to put the Giants ahead in the fourth inning. Nothing else amounted to much against Marlins right-hander David Phelps, who escaped a pair of two-out jams in the third and fifth innings.
Joe Panik and Hunter Pence continue to navigate their slumps. Panik managed an infield single in a 1-for-3 performance, but Pence tallied three strikeouts in another hitless game. His average is down to .276 after coming of the DL with a .299 clip.
On the mound
As much as the Giants longed for a series win, Samardzija was in dire need of a quality outing. Only six starters entered Wednesday with a higher second-half ERA than Samardzija’s 6.85 mark. Five and two-third shutout innings later, the Giants have their series win and Samardzija his first scoreless start of the year. In a 1-0 game, he exited after 82 pitches with a pair of runners on in the sixth inning.
He escaped a bigger jam the inning before, retiring Stanton with two runners aboard. That was about as much trouble as the right-hander ran into all afternoon. Samardzija breezed through a five-pitch fourth inning and actually threw the second-fewest pitches of any start this season.
The tall righty found success with a sharp curveball, a pitch he’s only recently featured in his repertoire. Otherwise he hummed fastballs in at 91-93 MPH and finally strung together a start to build off.
In the ‘pen
It hasn’t been a completely smooth ride for Will Smith since joining the Giants 10 days ago, but Thursday provided perhaps his best outing. With two on and two out in the sixth, Smith struck out Chris Johnson looking with a fastball on the outside corner. He exited after striking out Ichiro to begin the seventh.
That’s when a shuffling of roles became apparent. Bruce Bochy never turned to Sergio Romo, but he tabbed Hunter Strickland to finish the seventh inning. That opened the door for Derek Law to pitch the eighth inning of a 1-0 game, and he did so beautifully on 13 pitches. Law hasn’t allowed a run since June.
On deck
The Giants return home after Thursday’s off-day to begin a 10-game homestand against the Orioles, Pirates and Mets. Matt Cain (4-6, 5.16 ERA) faces Dylan Bundy (5-3, 3.05 ERA) in the opener on Friday. The Giants play their next 18 games in California, and 15 of the next 18 at AT&T Park. First pitch on Friday at 7:15 p.m. on KNBR 680.