I’m not sure which lasted longer, the seven seasons of Happy Days that followed Fonzie’s epic stunt or the first inning of Jeff Samardzija’s return to Wrigley with the Giants. After his current team had spotted him two runs in the top of the 1st inning, Shark gave the lead right back to his old one as he required 47 pitches to retire nine Cubs batters.
More than a quarter of that tally came against leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler, who coaxed a 13-pitch walk that included eight fouls. With Kris Bryant batting, a Shark splitter on 0-2 bit the dirt and skipped under Buster Posey’s (who’s beautifully spoonerized name is Bustey Poser) glove, allowing Fowler to advance into scoring position.