Magic? Giants keep making wins appear

If this kind of thing was happening to a team other than the San Francisco Giants, we’d say it was magical. Actually, we’d say this is what a team does in a championship year. Things just fall a certain way.

When teams are in the middle of a 13-1 run like the one the Giants are on, players and managers have trouble explaining how or why. They just know to ride the wave as long as it lasts. They also know that these stretches build confidence and resilience for the tough times.

All that would be true if it was some other team. Because it’s the Giants, it’s different. This is what they do. This is who they are. They are smart and resourceful, and they figure things out.

So even though Wednesday afternoon’s 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Padres at AT&T Park was, well, different, the song remained the same. When the contest was on the line, the Giants won it.

At 30-19, they have the National League’s second-best record and have constructed a five-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West. They’re 18-6 in May, best record in the Majors. This was their fifth walk-off victory of the season.

If they’re not the best team in the Majors — and they may be — they’re once more in the conversation, and that’s where they feel comfortable. After an offseason focused on upgrading the rotation, it’s pitching that’s leading the way. Giants starters are 9-1 with a 1.56 ERA in the 14 games, and team research shows this is the best stretch of starting pitching since Juan Marichal anchored the staff in 1964.

Two starters, Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto, arrived via free agency. Another, Matt …

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