SAN FRANCISCO -- One of the more underrated storylines of the Giants’ 2019 season was the resurgence of Jeff Samardzija.

Limited to only 10 starts during an injury-marred 2018 campaign, Samardzija emerged as arguably the Giants’ most consistent starter, logging a 3.52 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 181 1/3 innings. It marked his lowest ERA and WHIP since his All-Star season in 2014 and a massive improvement from the 6.25 ERA he posted in '18, when he struggled to pitch through a compromised right shoulder.

"All things said, after where we were last year, absolutely, I'm pretty proud of it," Samardzija said. "We'll repeat that offseason and stay strong and look forward to next year."

What went right?

Samardzija never cleaned out his locker at Oracle Park after the 2018 season, opting to stay in the Bay Area during the offseason to rehab his shoulder. He reported to Spring Training healthy, and while the Giants were cautious with his workload at the beginning of the regular season, he soon proved capable of taking on more.

Samardzija recorded a 4.52 ERA through his first 16 starts of the year, but he emerged as one of the best starters in the National League in the second half of his season with a 2.67 ERA over his final 16 outings. After increasing the usage of his four-seam fastball and his cutter, Samardzija held opposing hitters to a .225 batting average for the season, the lowest mark of his career as a starting pitcher.

While the Giants didn’t expect Samardzija to be the 200-inning workhorse he had been earlier in his career, he came close to reaching that number and helped anchor San Francisco’s rotation alongside fellow veteran Madison Bumgarner.

“It took a lot of hard work,” former manager Bruce Bochy said. “Hard work by him and the training staff. We treated him with kid gloves there at the beginning. I was a little concerned, and probably overly concerned. I just wanted him for the whole year, and it just kept getting better and better. His strength and stamina got better. Next thing you know, here he was throwing 100 pitches, maintaining the same stuff. I’m really proud of him.”

What went wrong?

Like many of the Giants’ starters, Samardzija proved most vulnerable in the first inning, posting a 5.06 ERA and surrendering 10 home runs over 32 opening frames.

Best moment

Samardzija delivered his finest start of the season against the Phillies on Aug. 10, allowing only two hits over eight innings of one-run ball. The 34-year-old right-hander yielded a two-out solo home run to Corey Dickerson in the first inning, but he retired 20 consecutive batters after that in a 3-1 victory for the Giants.

2020 outlook

Samardzija is due to earn $19.8 million in the final season of the five-year, $90 million contract that he signed with the Giants in December 2015. He plans to repeat his throwing program from last offseason and remain in the Bay Area to maintain the strength in his shoulder. The Giants will have question marks in their rotation heading into next year, but Samardzija’s revival, coupled with Johnny Cueto’s return from Tommy John surgery, should give them a pair of veteran arms to lean on in 2020, even if they lose Bumgarner to free agency.