San Francisco Giants wrap 5-2 homestand, sit in first place thanks to elite pitching

The best thing about baseball is that when you’re on a roll and having fun, there’s plenty of potential for more good times right around the corner.

The San Francisco Giants have had a blast thus far this season, especially after a just completed 5-2 homestand. The club has Thursday off before the action heats up again with a trip to battle division rival San Diego at Petco Park.

The Giants won 7-3. They're 16-9 and will head to Petco Park tied with the Dodgers for first in the NL West. The Padres are 14-12 and have the top of their rotation lined up. Should be a fun weekend.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) April 29, 2021

How are the Giants performing so well? I was told this team would struggle this season. In a word: pitching. Check this insane list of low earned run averages from manager Gabe Kapler’s rotation.

ERAs for the @SFGiants' top starters:

1.50 – DeSclafani
1.50 – Wood
1.80 – Cueto
2.14 – Gausman
2.22 – Sanchez

They would join the 1978 A's as the only teams to have 5 starters with a sub-2.50 ERA in the month of April (min. 3 starts) since ERA became an official stat in 1913.

— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) April 29, 2021

Those numbers are unbelievably low. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that those ERAs can’t stay that low all season, one must assume. Ideally for Kapler, his lineup will start to hit at a more representative level as his pitching comes back down to earth. That way, the good times can keep rolling.

Also, San Francisco is eagerly awaiting the return of starting pitcher Johnny Cueto.

In San Diego, pitcher Logan Webb is scheduled to get the ball on Friday, and SP Anthony DeSclafani will start on Saturday. It’s time for the Giants to prove once again that they can play with NL West heavy-hitters and favorites, the Padres and the Dodgers. Thus far, it’s clear that they can, and every win is a celebration.

(Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)