SAN DIEGO — After Monday night’s win, Jeff Samardzija noted that his favorite pitchers growing up were the ones who would throw 130-plus pitches and then come back on short rest and do it again. He said he fondly remembers watching CC Sabathia go on three days rest three consecutive times in 2008 to drag the Brewers into the playoffs.
Samardzija, then, will enjoy looking at a particular leaderboard on Tuesday. He woke up as the National League’s leader in innings (176 2/3) after shutting out the Padres. The complete game was just the third of the season for the Giants, and per Elias, it put Samardzija in a select group. He joined Clayton Kershaw, Jon Lester and Chris Sale as the only pitchers with at least one complete game in each of the last six seasons.
“It just means I’m a workhorse, I guess,” Samardzija said of leading the league in innings. “It shows you’re a professional. It shows you did your work in the offseason. Your season goes two ways in September. (You can) stay on the gas and take advantage of these hitters who have 600 at-bats under their belt and maybe aren’t feeling great. You’ve got to pick and choose what you do, and I like to pride myself on mental toughness.”
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Samardzija’s shutout was the second by the Giants this year. Ty Blach blanked the Phillies on June 2. The other complete game was Madison Bumgarner’s eight-inning loss here at Petco Park in April.
Bumgarner was second in the NL last season with 226 2/3 innings last year. He won’t get close this year, but Samardzija is on pace for 214, which would give him a fifth consecutive 200-inning season.