The Giants weren’t going to have a start for him if they make the playoffs.

“I really respect the way he prepared for yesterday’s start,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “I thought his stuff came out better than I’d seen in a really long time. I thought he was especially competitive. In that game it kind of unraveled quickly and we went to our bullpen early but at one point I thought he was going to be able to carry us deep into the baseball game. I’m proud of what Jeff accomplished here with the Giants and I have no doubt that he’s going to attempt to continue his career and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him to go out and do really well going forward.”

Samardzija won 11 games in 2015 for the Chicago White Sox, marking his first double-digit victory total in his initial eight major league seasons before a career-best 12 wins in ’16 with the Giants.

He spent the second half of the 2014 season pitching in the Bay Area with the Oakland Athletics following his trade from the Chicago Cubs.

Samardzija said he plans to pitch in 2021, which would be a 14th big league season: “100%, without a doubt,” he said, not ruling out a return to San Francisco if that were to work out.

“It’s always an honor to play for the Giants,” he said.