Three starts are still too few to really judge a pitcher, particular one who’s results have been as varied as Jeff Samardzija’s have been. That said, he just didn’t have the control today. He was all over the place, walking five more guys today than he’d walked in his previous two starts combined (one was intentional). When he was in the zone, he got hit. Not terribly hard, but enough.
The story for the offense remains the same: no power, no hitting with runners in scoring position. Darwin Barney’s bases-clearing triple was today’s only example of either thing (save for one double by Bryan LaHair).