Samardzija, Giants aim to stay hot in Arizona

The San Francisco Giants' rise to contenders in the National League wild-card race has coincided with the resurgence of veteran right-hander Jeff Samardzija. The 34-year-old will try to continue his hot streak Friday night in Phoenix in the second game of a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Samardzija (9-9, 3.55 ERA) is 5-2 with a 1.95 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in eight starts since the calendar flipped from June to July, when he started more prominently featuring his four-seam fastball and cutter, curbing use of his sinker and virtually eliminating the curveball.