Where was this when the Yankees came to town and swept the season-opening series?

Where was this during that winless trip through Philadelphia and Tampa?

Where was this when the team’s best hitter virtually went oh-for-April, when the Gold Glove catcher hit so poorly that he got traded, when the third baseman told his teammate to “catch the f—ing ball,” when the shortstop forgot how many outs there were?

Where was this when even the cherished three-time World Series champ who took over baseball operations to put the organization back on track became a target of fan criticism?

On one sunny Saturday afternoon in China Basin, with another spirited sellout crowd on hand, the past was momentarily put on hold. The bad baseball and awful record were temporarily overlooked. Giants fans watched a team worth watching. The vibes were upbeat. The action was constant. And the contact was loud.

The 10-3 blowout of the White Sox was merely one win, but enough good stuff happened for witnesses to wonder why this team can’t play like this more often. Aside from Adrian Houser’s failure to throw a shutdown inning and Rafael Devers’ decision not to run out his infield popup, the Giants were at the top of their game.

But was it only for a day? Was this an aberration? Is it back to normal from here? 

History says yes. The stats say yes. The eye test says yes.

What do the Giants say? We asked the man whose fifth-inning grand slam was the decisive blow: Do you guys have it in you to succeed like this over the long haul?

“That’s obviously the goal,” outfielder Harrison Bader said. “I’ve been on less talented teams before, and this is certainly a very talented team. Erring on the side of positivity, erring on the side of getting your work in regardless of the noise, and trusting yourself, I think those decisions on a daily basis will allow an entire team to kind of match its talent with results. We certainly have the pieces for it, and today was a great example of that.”

Manager Tony Vitello was asked a similar question.

“I think the ability to do that is there,” he said. “We’re not expecting to completely dominate or put up double-digit runs every time. You understand that we’re going to need to make the average play on defense, do a great job on baserunning, and grind out some at-bats.

“I think we’re finding ourselves a little bit on how to respond appropriately after a loss, but also I think the team is fully capable of having some outbursts here and there like they did today.”

The Giants entered Saturday with a four-game losing streak, losses in seven of nine, and an 11-games-below-.500 record for the first time since 2019. Next thing you knew, interim third-base coach Ron Wotus was a busy man waving runners home. Everyone in the lineup got at least one hit, and the Giants collected 14 hits in all including home runs by Casey Schmitt (his team-leading 10th), Willy Adames, and Bader, with plenty of nice situational hitting along the way.

This has been the worst offense in the majors, but both Devers and Adames are producing far better in May than April, which was a necessary development if the Giants were to begin to salvage their season. Not that there has been much more winning as a result, but at least it’s a start.

Saturday, others got in on the act, too. Rookie Bryce Eldridge, who will apparently get consistent playing time now that Schmitt has proven he can handle left field, reached base three times for the first time in his career with two singles and a walk. 

His most impressive at-bat was his first, an 11-pitch duel against Erick Fedde that resulted in a sizzling single to right field, off the bat at 109.3 mph. After Eldridge’s bases-loaded walk in the sixth, Bader followed with his grand slam to punctuate a six-run inning.

San Francisco scored three runs in the fourth, but Houser gave them all back the next half-inning. On most nights this season, the Giants would have gone away meekly. But instead of crumbling, the Giants kept pouring it on.

Yeah, they caught some breaks as the sun wreaked havoc on the White Sox, but they also took advantage of those breaks. Chicago third baseman Miguel Vargas misplayed two pop-ups to extend a big rally, one that allowed Matt Chapman to leg out a double and the other in foul territory, giving Bader a second chance before his second grand slam in a week.

The more the Giants win, the more we’ll see the outfielders’ creative celebrations. After the final out, Schmitt, Bader, and Drew Gilbert converged in the middle of the outfield and recreated a hilarious skit from comedians Key & Peele. Gilbert played the part of football player Hingle McCringleberry (opens in new tab) and Bader acted as the referee who throws a penalty flag for too many thrusts.

Anyway, goofiness can be good because it usually means players are loose and contributing. Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” was blasting in the clubhouse as reporters entered, a fitting prelude for the outfielders to explain their latest celebratory routine.

Schmitt, who’s playing the outfield for the first time since college, simply went with the flow. When the game ended, he was about to run straight back to the infield until he remembered he was supposed to meet his fellow outfielders, do their thing, and then run in together.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Schmitt said. “I was just kind of there.”

The series concludes Sunday with Robbie Ray starting for the Giants, and we’ll soon learn if they can get on any kind of roll, create some momentum, and make this a habit.

Or if Saturday was simply a one-off.