The last Giants team to have a winning record, before their good start this year, was the 2016 club the Cubs dispatched in a four-game Division Series. Last year San Francisco went 29-31 in the abbreviated 60-game season, missing the expanded postseason on a tiebreaker.
So how are they 34-21 entering this series, the best record in the National League?
Starting pitching, mostly. They’ve got a guy who was previously good throwing out of his mind (Kevin Gausman), a guy who was injured and bad last year being solid (Anthony DeSclafani) and a rejuvenated Johnny Cueto.
But they are also getting All-Star production out of Buster Posey, who opted out of the 2020 season, and very good years from veterans Brandon Crawford and Evan Longoria, both playing like they were five years ago.