PEORIA, Ariz. -- Jeff Samardzija believes in the mantra that Spring Training doesn't count and it's all about getting your work in, but that doesn't mean he likes it when the opposing team knocks the ball around the way the Mariners wound up doing Wednesday.
After two brilliant innings to start his fourth outing of the spring for the Giants, Samardzija allowed seven earned runs on eight hits, including three home runs, over his last two frames in an eventual 9-6 Giants loss to Seattle.
"Obviously, you don't want to give up anything," said Samardzija, who signed a five-year, $90 million deal with the Giants this past offseason. "We're all competitors out there, and you want to do what you can.
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"But Spring Training is a learning process. You're trying to improve on what you feel you need to improve on, and get outs. I wanted to go five [innings] today and went four. That's unfortunate. But you keep striving and keep going for your goals in spring."
He said the key is that he's healthy, feeling strong, and on track to be ready for the long haul of the marathon regular season.
"I feel great, and that's the most important thing," Samardzija said. "The body's rebounding outstanding. I'm looking forward to getting out there again."
Still, it was a day of extremes in terms of results for Samardzija. As dominating as he appeared to be in throwing 17 strikes among his 25 pitches the first two innings, he was hittable the rest of the way, winding up with 73 pitches thrown on the day, 46 of them for strikes.
"I think he just got a little off track there," said catcher Buster Posey, who was able to help Samardzija with an in-game adjustment. "The first two innings were great. The third inning, the ball flattened out on him and he was just up in the zone. But the first two innings were impressive."
Said Giants manager Bruce Bochy: "He just got a little out of sync with his delivery. You could see him getting side to side there, and the ball just flattened out and got it up, and here in Arizona, the ball carries well, and we paid for it. But it was a good day's work, four innings, and I think he's going to learn from that."