Giants’ Samardzija looks to add Rangers to list of victims

Two pitchers -- one with fond memories of June 2015, the other not so much -- meet for the first time Sunday afternoon when the San Francisco Giants host the Texas Rangers to wrap up a three-game series. The game pits Giants 35-year-old right-hander Jeff Samardzija (0-1, 11.25 ERA), who last pitched against the Rangers on June 2, 2015, against Rangers 22-year-old lefty Kolby Allard (0-0, 0.00), who was still attending San Clemente High near Los Angeles on that day. Pitching then for the Chicago White Sox, Samardzija became a footnote in history that night more than five years ago when he served up not only Joey Gallo's first major league hit -- a two-run single in the first inning -- but also the slugger's first career home run: a two-run shot two innings later.