For months, Giants starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija tried to simulate the workload of a normal baseball day. Without games at night, that meant adding hikes to his schedule in the mornings, throwing as much cardio as possible on top of normal throwing and lifting sessions. Samardzija was in the Phoenix area until flying to San Francisco two weeks ago, and on a Zoom call with reporters early in camp, he smiled when asked where he would find those morning hikes.
"My baseball career has allowed me to have a nice house of elevation, if you will," Samardzija said.