SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy seized upon Jeff Samardzija's suggestion that he could perform in relief during this weekend's series against the Dodgers, declaring Thursday that the right-hander will indeed be available out of the bullpen.
Bochy indicated Saturday would be the most sensible day to use Samardzija, since that's the day he would throw his between-starts bullpen session. Samardzija (12-11) struck out a career-high 11 while working two batters into the seventh inning in San Francisco's 2-0 loss Wednesday to Colorado.
"He even said that if he was needed, he could help out tomorrow [Friday]," Bochy said.
Relieving is not a foreign experience for Samardzija. With the Chicago Cubs during partial-season stints from 2008-10, he made 48 relief appearances and only five starts. He spent all of 2011 in the Cubs' bullpen, pitching 75 games as a setup reliever. Samardzija then became a starter in 2012.
• Bochy dropped his broadest hint yet that newly acquired infielder Gordon Beckham, a right-handed batter, likely will start against a pair of Dodgers left-handers -- Rich Hill on Fridaiy and Clayton Kershaw on Saturday. Lifetime, Beckham is 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI off Hill and 2-for-5 with a walk and two strikeouts against Kershaw.
• Right-hander Jake Peavy was the recipent of the "Good Guy Award" bestowed annually by the San Francisco-Oakland chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America upon the player who maintains noteworthy cooperation with members of the media.