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Don't let anybody tell you Jeff Samardzija didn't give the White Sox anything of value in 2015.
If it weren't for Smarch, White Sox pitchers might've been limited to a single hit for the fourth straight season. Instead, Samardzija's 1-for-2 performance at the plate in early May (jump to the 8:30 mark for his single) ...
... set up the Sox staff for that elusive second hit, which was also a first for Chris Sale:
So with these two hits, let's update the big board from last year's review:
| Year | PA |
AB | R | H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI | BB |
K | SH | BA | OBP | SLG |
| 2011 | 22 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .2 | .056 | .150 | .111 |
| 2012* | 22 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 2 | .053 | .100 | .053 |
| 2013 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | .056 | .056 | .056 |
| 2014** | 24 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | .043 | .043 | .043 |
| 2015*** | 23 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | .105 | .105 | .105 |
*Removes Dewayne Wise
**Removes Adam Dunn
***Removes Adam LaRoche (who singled) and Alexei Ramirez (who walked)
Of course, because Samardzija's contributions had a way of being negated, he was limited to just one start in a National League park, while Sale made three of them and Jose Quintana had everybody beat with four. It didn't help that the Sox fell behind 6-0 against the Brewers that evening, either.
Sale, on the other hand, came around to score on a Jose Abreu single, becoming the first White Sox pitcher to cross the plate since Dylan Axelrod in 2013. struck out 12 Cardinals over eight innings of one-run ball, and although he didn't receive a decision, the Sox won the game on a Tyler Flowers 11th-inning homer.
Somehow, Sale had only batted a total of six times over his first three seasons as a starter. He topped that this season alone, finishing the year 1-for-9 with four strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Quintana continued to be a fixture at the plate during interleague games, and he continued to have nothing to show for it:
- 2012: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 SH
- 2013: 0-for-2, 1 K
- 2014: 0-for-9, 4 K, 1 SH
- 2015: 0-for-8, 5 K, 1 SH
That's 0-for-22 if you don't feel like doing the math, which is somewhat surprising since Quintana might have the most aesthetically pleasing swing of the group. But maybe like Samardzija, Quintana can't resist the story line to which he is bound. It wouldn't be a Jose Quintana start if he received run support, even if Jose Quintana is the one trying to provide it.