KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When it comes to new rotation pillar Jeff Samardzija, the issues causing his unpredictability seem clear, and it is now about making the necessary tweaks to fix it.

Since spring training began, Samardzija has been dealing with command issues. It’s not that his fastball hasn't been fast, he has just struggled to put it where he has wanted. And it’s not that his breaking pitches are not breaking or his split-finger pitch is not diving, but controlling that movement has been a problem.

No longer can the White Sox simply chalk up those issues to the peculiar temperament of the desert, where breaking balls do odd things and harmless fly balls tend to go a long way.

White Sox right-hander Jeff Samardzija has shown hints of command issues since spring training. AP Photo/Ben Margot

In the season opener at Kansas City on Monday, with plenty of moisture in the air and a slight chill to the day, the same command issues showed themselves with Samardzija on the mound.

In hindsight, the warning signs for Samardzija’s bumpy first ride with the Chicago White Sox were clear in the pregame clubhouse. Catcher Tyler Flowers mentioned Samardzija’s command, or lack thereof three times. And none of those three times was Flowers asked what was wrong with the right-hander.

"Obviously he’s got great stuff, high velocity, high intensity," Flowers said before Monday’s game, when asked what impresses him about Samardzija. "His command wasn’t as great during the spring, but I think Arizona probably played a little part in that with consistent action on his pitches. I expect him to step it up today, competitiveness, tenacity out there."

It isn’t as if Samardzija’s command issues went unnoticed in the spring. But it wasn’t as dire of an issue as it might have seemed, mostly because he still had 18 strikeouts and only two walks in 21 1/3 innings.

But in his first six regular-season innings, Samardzija walked three batters and hit two more.

"I was pretty happy with everything," Samardzija said defiantly after the outing. "Obviously the walks hurt. ... It shows you how important it is to not give you free passes. Of everything, that upset me. You know they put the bat on the ball, found some green spots and that’s the way it goes sometimes. They had it working for them today but those walks, you’ve got to cut those out."

The good news is the movement on Samardzija’s pitches is there. His issue could be as simple as being too amped up to perform for his new team and earn himself a healthy offer in free agency over the winter. Physical adjustments figure to be made as well.

Once Samardzija gets his fastball location under control, the rest of his arsenal could fall into place.

Flowers told an anecdote from spring training, saying there were days that Samardzija’s split-finger pitch was so active that it sometimes looked like a knuckleball. One day, a pitch took a left turn on the catcher, glancing off the umpire’s leg.

Flowers turned to the umpire and asked that when Samardzija gets ahead in the count if it would be OK for him to retrieve the oversized catcher’s glove he has in his bag for the rare occasions he is behind the plate for a knuckleballer.

It was a lighthearted spring moment, but one that perfectly illustrated not only how much movement Samardzija has displayed, but how unpredictable it has been.

The Royals, no doubt, recognized Samardzija’s command issues all afternoon Monday, and perhaps that is why they didn’t react more than they did when Lorenzo Cain was drilled one pitch after Mike Moustakas hit home run. It was, in fact, the first opposite-field home run of Moustakas' career.

A miffed Cain walked deliberately toward first base after he was plunked, and when the two made eye contact and Samardzija waived him along, verbal protests grew but nothing came of the incident.

"He hit me on purpose," Cain said. "But beating him the way we did ... it definitely makes up for that."

White Sox manager Robin Ventura was asked if hitting Cain was a sign of Samardzija’s frustration.

"Probably," Ventura said. "I think there's frustration to go around for everybody."

Samardzija said he didn’t mean to do it, of course. But his command problems are an interesting aside to the whole matter.

"He didn’t like it; I didn’t like it," Samardzija said. "I didn’t want to hit him. He probably didn’t feel good so he didn’t like it. Boys playing baseball, no big deal."

The bigger deal? Getting those command issues fixed.

Samardzija is scheduled to make his next start Saturday on his regular four days of rest at home against the Minnesota Twins.

"I’ve got to go back and look and add it all up and see what happened," he said.