Last season seems to be an aberration for the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants were 76-86 in 2013. It was a rare down year for a team that averaged 91 victories from 2010-12 and won a pair of World Series titles in that span.

Well, the Giants are back this year, and they are winning in an unconventional manner.

San Francisco enters Week 6 of the regular season having won five consecutive games and nine of 10.


In their five-game winning streak, the Giants scored four runs or fewer in four of the five games and averaged 3.6 runs per contest.

But the Giants' pitchers have limited the opposition to one run per game in the last five contests, and they've held their opponents to two runs or fewer in seven of their last nine.

Getting good pitching isn't what's surprising, though.

It's that the Giants are getting much of that production from their bullpen, not their starting rotation.

Starters Matt Cain (0-3, 4.35 ERA, 1.32 WHIP), Ryan Vogelsong (1-1, 4.60, 1.53) and Tim Lincecum (2-1, 5.12, 1.61) all have struggled. Only Tim Hudson (4-1, 2.17 ERA, 0.74 WHIP) and Madison Bumgarner (3-3, 3.18 ERA) have produced, but even Bumgarner hasn't met his usual high standards (his WHIP, at 1.56, is worse than Vogelsong's).

On the season, the Giants' starters are 11-9 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Their ERA ranks ninth in baseball, and opponents are batting .263 against them.

The bullpen, meanwhile, has been sensational.

The Giants' relievers are 9-2 with a 1.86 ERA (No. 2 in MLB) and 0.94 WHIP. Opponents are hitting only .194 against San Francisco's bullpen.

Closer Sergio Romo is 9-for-9 in save opportunities, and six of the Giants' eight relievers have an ERA of 2.70 or better.

The Giants' recent run has given them the top spot in our rankings for Week 6, marking the fifth consecutive week in which there has been a change at the top. (Hey, we're an equal-opportunity power ranker.)

Without further delay, our rankings for Week 6 (all records are through the Sunday afternoon games on May 4):

• 1. San Francisco Giants (last week: 4): 20-11 (5-1 last week)
• 2. Detroit Tigers (8): 17-9 (5-0 last week)
• 3. Oakland Athletics (5): 19-12 (4-2 last week)
• 4. Milwaukee Brewers (2): 21-11 (3-4 last week)
• 5. Los Angeles Dodgers (7): 18-14 (4-2 last week)
• 6. Colorado Rockies (11): 19-14 (5-2 last week)
• 7. Atlanta Braves (1): 17-13 (0-6 last week)
• 8. Washington Nationals (9): 17-14 overall (3-2 last week)
• 9. New York Yankees (3): 16-14 (1-4 last week)
• 10. Texas Rangers (6): 17-14 (2-4 last week)
• 11. St. Louis Cardinals (10): 15-16 (1-4 last week)
• 12. Philadelphia Phillies (12): 15-14 (2-2 last week)
• 13. Tampa Bay Rays (15): 15-17 (4-3 last week)
• 14. Boston Red Sox (14): 15-17 (3-3 last week)
• 15. Los Angeles Angels (18): 15-15 (3-2 last week)
• 16. Baltimore Orioles (17): 15-14 (3-2 last week)
• 17. Kansas City Royals (13): 14-16 (2-4 last week)
• 18. New York Mets (16): 16-14 (2-3 last week)
• 19. Cincinnati Reds (24): 15-16 (4-2 last week)
• 20. Minnesota Twins (19): 14-15 (2-4 last week)
• 21. Seattle Mariners (26): 14-15 (4-1 last week)
• 22. Miami Marlins (27): 16-15 (5-1 last week)
• 23. Chicago White Sox (20): 15-17 (2-4 last week)
• 24. Toronto Blue Jays (21): 14-17 (2-4 last week)
• 25. San Diego Padres (22): 14-18 (2-4 last week)
• 26. Cleveland Indians (23): 13-18 (2-4 last week)
• 27. Pittsburgh Pirates (25): 12-19 (2-3 last week)
• 28. Chicago Cubs (28): 11-17 (3-1 last week)
• 29. Arizona Diamondbacks (30): 11-23 (3-3 last week)
• 30. Houston Astros (29): 10-21 (1-4 last week)

For a week-by-week look at our 2014 power rankings, click here.