By Morris Phillips

Cubs’ pitcher Jeff Samardzjia played the great equalizer in Chicago’s 8-4 win over the Giants on Memorial Day.

In a meeting of teams with the best and worst records in the National League, Samardzjia single-handedly flipped the script by pitching seven plus innings—walking none and striking out 10—and cooling the hot bats of the Giants after a rocky, first couple of innings. 

For the Giants, the loss marked a blip on a solid stretch of play in which they had won nine of 13.  For the Cubs, the win felt like a new beginning, especially since it marked the first win of Samardzjia’s season thus far, which has been plagued by poor run support and just plain, bad luck. 

How poorly has Samardzjia fared with his personal results in fashioning a league-leading 1.46 ERA in 10 starts and 68 innings pitched?  He’s the first pitcher in the history of the game to have such a microscopic ERA over 10 starts to begin a season and not register even one win. 

Can you spell “poor run support?”  Samardzjia can—as well as spell his own, eye-chart of a last name—but don’t count on him doing it inside or even outside of the Cub’s clubhouse.

“Not once has he been negative about the run support or not having a win,” teammate Nate Schierholtz said.

“He’s been grinding all season,” Cubs manager Rick Renteria said.  “That’s what the good ones do: they don’t get bothered by things they can’t control.”

“This game will tell you a lot about yourself,” Samardzjia said of his plight.  “You just gotta keep doing your work.”

Just this month, Samardzjia’s been through an emotional wringer.  On May 5 at home against the White Sox, the former Notre Dame All-American in football as a wide receiver, threw 126 pitches and went nine innings, but left with the game tied at 1.  The Cubs went on to lose in 12 innings, 3-1.  In his next start at Atlanta, Samardzjia went six innings and allowed two hits in a scoreless game, but a prolonged rain delay ended his afternoon. 

And on May 21 against the Yankees, Samardzjia went seven innings, allowing four hits and no runs, leaving with a 2-0 lead.  But the Yankees rallied and beat the Cubs, 4-2 in 13 innings. 

Early on in this one, Samardzjia seemed to have an issue with red-hot Pablo Sandoval, who has spent the last three weeks on a tear, hitting .348 with 23 hits in his last 18 games.   Sandoval singled home a run in the first—after Samardzjia’s fielding error allowed Angel Pagan to reach—and then hit a two-run homer in the fourth to give the Giants a 3-1 lead.  Both hits came on two-strike counts and according to the Cubs’ Darwin Barney, Sandoval’s single may have been the best swing off Samardzjia all year.

“He’s got dumb pop,” Samardzjia said respectfully of the Panda. 

But the Giants’ early fortune wouldn’t last.  Samardzjia settled in with his 95-96 mph fastball and nasty slider and also helped himself with the bat.  In the Cubs’ three-run fifth, the pitcher delivered an RBI double that one-hopped the wall behind Hunter Pence. 

With a lead, the Cubs more often than not have collapsed in 2014.  But this time, the NL West leading Giants were the ones to blink.  David Huff relieved Giants’ starter Yusmeiro Petit to start the sixth, trailing 4-3, and allowed seven hits and four runs while recording just four outs.  Huff didn’t help himself in the error-plaugued seventh when he had the Cubs’ Junior Lake picked off, but threw the ball past Buster Posey at first, allowing Lake to get to third base.  

In the same frame, shortstop Brandon Crawford booted a grounder for an error and second baseman Brandon Hicks let Luis Valbuena’s grounder glance off his glove on a play that was initially labeled Hicks’ error but later changed to a hit.

Even with the loss, the Giants maintained their five game lead over the Rockies, who were shut out in Philadelphia, 9-0.  The Dodgers were also five games back with their series opener against the Reds Monday night pending at press time.

The Giants get Tim Hudson on the hill Tuesday night in a matchup with the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta.  Hudson has thrown just three innings since May 11 after getting skipped a turn due to his bout with a sore hip and throwing just three innings in his weather-shortened start last week in Denver.