The Giants' '12 days of Christmas'

The 12 days of Christmas begin today, but who needs a partridge in a pear tree when we've got a Posey behind the plate?

To remember the most glorious weeks of Bay Area sports in 2010, we present 12 playoff numbers that gift-wrapped a World Series for San Francisco.

1 Aubrey Huff bunt: Huff's sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the World Series was the first of his 11-season career. It helped set the table for Edgar Renteria's three-run homer in the Giants' 3-1 title-clinching victory.

2 Cody Ross homers: Against the Phillies' "unhittable" Roy Halladay, Ross went deep twice in Game 1 of the NLCS. Ross, the unofficial MVP of the NLDS, would be the official MVP of the NLCS.

3 Freddy Sanchez doubles: In Game 1 of the World Series, Sanchez became the first player to hit three doubles in his first three World Series at-bats. Sanchez, like Huff and Ross, was a veteran ballplayer (nine seasons) in his first postseason.

4 One-run games: The Giants, who were 28-24 in one-run games during their torturous regular season, went 3-1 in one-run games in a torturous NLDS against the Braves.

5 Game 6 relievers: Jonathan Sanchez lost his cool and was pulled in the third inning of the final game of the NLCS. In came Jeremy Affeldt, Madison Bumgarner, Javier Lopez, Tim Lincecum and, for the five-out save, Brian Wilson. The quintet allowed zero runs in the 3-2 victory.

6 Brian Wilson saves: There was a lot more for foes to fear in the postseason than the beard. Wilson had a 0.00 ERA in 11 2/3 innings with 16 strikeouts and four walks. He saved each clinching game.

7 Two-out runs: With two outs in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the World Series, Buster Posey singled to start a seven-run rally that turned a 2-0 game into a blowout. The rally featured four straight walks on 19 pitches.

8 Shutout innings: At age 21, Madison Bumgarner won Game 4 of the World Series with eight innings of shutout ball, allowing one runner to reach second base.

9 Swings and misses: The Braves were never more baffled than in the second inning of NLDS Game 1, when Tim Lincecum struck out the side, all swinging all the time. He finished with 14 Ks in a two-hit shutout.

10 Seasons in waiting: Giants fans, owners and employees went through 10 bittersweet seasons before the team finally christened its beautiful ballpark by the bay with a world championship run in Season No. 11.

11 Different lineups:

Nobody knew what Bruce Bochy would do next. In 15 playoff games, he posted 11 different starting lineups (pitchers aside). Every move seemed to work out just right.

12 Runs allowed: Giants pitchers held an explosive Rangers lineup to 12 runs in the World Series - a fitting symbol for a championship built on one of the best pitching staffs in team history. Texas had scored 38 runs against the Yankees in a six-game ALCS.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle