The Giants:
- have not scored more than five runs in a home win
- average just under three-and-a-half runs in their home wins
- are 11-0 in one-run wins at home
- plan to win in a walk-off tomorrow during their off day
- are 13-5 at home
It's also worth noting that when you see Darren Ford, the Giants are 13-4. It's not like you can directly correlate Ford with winning, but he certainly does seem to be a good-luck talisman this season. Other things that seem to be good-luck talismans this year for the Giants:
- seagulls
- rosin bags
- round spheres with red stitching
Which is to say: man, this team is just a little lucky. At least, when it comes to everything but injuries, that is, so I'm not going to feel guilty about these one-run shenanigans. A normal team should be .500 in one-run games, all things being equal. A team with a good bullpen should be a little bit better than .500 in one-run games. The Giants are due a little luck..
The Giants are 14-3 in one-run games. You can believe that's because they're doing the little things to win if that's what you want. The world is more interesting when you believe in things you can't prove, I guess. But the Giants won today when a fourth outfielder hit a ball that went over a fence at Mays Field for only the second time in over 400 plate appearances. They won when a guy who hit .250 in the Eastern League last year hit a single, stole second, and scored on a single from a slap-hitter who has seen about 20 major-league pitches over the past two years.
That's just beautiful. I'll worry about whether it's sustainable later. Right now, it's beautiful.