Chicago Cubs’ Jeff Samardzija prepares himself for Wednesday’s start – MLB News
The Chicago Cubs' starter Jeff Samardzija said on Tuesday, July 17, that he is learning to make adjustments and the biggest will be to see what he needs to change. Samardzija was commenting on his first start in the second half of the season, scheduled to be on Wednesday against the Miami Marlins.
"The biggest adjustment for me is going start to start and how I feel and what I need to change," Samardzija said.
However, Samardzija is coming in the game with multiple responsibilities on his shoulder. First and foremost, he is the leading starter in the team with 18 starts to his credit. But he has won only six of the games, losing eight with a 4.71 ERA.
Another factor that can neither go unnoticed nor afforded to be disregarded is the fact that the team’s starters have posted 1.23 ERA in their last five games. That is something positive and a lead that the Cubs want to fortify.
Samardzija is well aware of it and is willing to be part of the fierce competition. "We're kind of riding each other now -- nobody wants to be the guy who lets off the gas and lets a team get up on us," Samardzija said. "We're having fun and having some competition."
What distinguishes Samardzija, nonetheless, is the fact that he has thrown 101 innings this season. Do Chicago Cubs want to have a specific number of innings for him to pitch or they will allow him to pitch as many as he can?
The team’s manager Dale Sveum says the Cubs are not putting any number on it.
"I don't think we're going to put a number on it," Cubs' manager Dale Sveum said. "Just by the way we've set it up throughout the whole year, it's going to end up a relatively decent number.”
The Cubs’ first game of the three-game series against the Miami Marlins is scheduled for Tuesday. The result of that game is likely to either put pressure on the Samardzija or imbue him with more confidence to guide the team for more wins.
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