Giants' Jeff Samardzija: Strikes out 11, but drops final regular-season start

Samardzija (12-11) whiffed a season-high 11 while allowing just two runs on seven hits and a walk Wednesday against the Rockies, but suffered the loss.

Analysis:

His regular season thus ends with a 3.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, with two excellent months rounding out the year after a period of midseason struggles. Wednesday was the only double-digit-strikeout game of the year for Samardzija, who was a pretty consistent whiff-per-inning guy up until last season. Still, this rates as a bounce-back campaign for the veteran righty, who showed his trademark endurance while shaving more than a full point off last season's brutal 4.96 ERA.