Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija added a curveball to his repertoire in June and had several rough outings. He decided to put that pitch back in his pocket when he faced the Braves on Monday and had an outstanding start, though he says he isn't finished with the curveball yet:
"I think the more I get to learn myself and how I pitch in games and how guys approach me at the plate, I think there will definitely be time to use the curveball again," he said. "But it still needs work and I need to learn how to carry over the work from the bullpen into a game and it’s a learning process especially with that pitch."
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Samardzija said he gave the curveball a break because he was "fed up with walking guys." He averaged 5.8 walks issued per nine innings pitched in June, way up from his season average of 3.3 walks per 9 IP.
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