SF Giants complete historic homestand against Padres and Braves

The SF Giants completed a historic homestand against the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves last week. According to Sarah Langs of MLB.Com, that was just the fourth time in baseball history where every game in a homestand of seven or more games was decided by one run.

SF Giants complete historic homestand against Padres and Braves

The Chicago Cubs first completed this feat in 1906. Then, there was a long drought until the 1986 Los Angeles Dodgers did so in 1986. The third team to complete this was the 2005 Minnesota Twins.

The Giants went 5-2 on the homestand. They dropped the first two games of the series against the Padres in the first half of last week. At that point, it felt like the season was beginning to unravel, but they rallied and won five straight games to finish the week. This included a sweep of the Braves.

The Giants did it with razor-thin margins. The pitching is second in baseball with a 3.07 ERA. That unit has been excellent at keeping the opponent's lineup from scoring. In particular, the bullpen has been even better, as it leads baseball by a comfortable margin with a 2.32 ERA.

The Giants need the pitching staff to be strong, as the lineup has struggled to find any consistency at the plate. Over the past 21 games, they have scored more than four runs twice. In that time, they have played in 13 one-run games, winning nine. The offensive struggles have put a lot of pressure on the pitching staff to be nearly flawless.

This does highlight what the Giants need to do at the trade deadline. Unlike most teams, they do not need to be in the market for pitching. That said, adding another left-handed reliever would not be a bad idea.

First base should be an area to upgrade. Dominic Smith has looked good in his first few games with San Francisco, but his bat raises the floor of the lineup more than it changes the dynamic. Second base and right field are emerging as potential trade needs as well. There are a few trade options at each position.

The Giants hope that the offense can turn it around. In the meantime, they joined rare company by playing with such a small margin for error for an extended period.