CHICAGO >> Through 37 games, Wilmer Flores owns an ordinary slash line of .256/.308/.429. Based on weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+), he’s only 8% better than a league average hitter. Where the Giants veteran continues to shine, though, is with runners in scoring position.

After driving in a run in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs, Flores is up to 33 RBIs on the season — one behind the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, the Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández and the Mets’ Pete Alonso for the most in all of baseball. At this rate he’d drive in 140 runs this season.

“He just knows the situation,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “He thinks really clearly. He knows he doesn’t have to hit a homer. He knows he doesn’t have to hit it hard at times. … He just has a nose for it. He smells RBIs. If you look at the overall numbers and what he’s hitting and all that, it looks semi-pedestrian, but in those clutch situations, it’s next level stuff.”

Just for fun, only three players in franchise history have hit that mark: Willie Mays (141 in 1962), Orlando Cepeda (142, 1961) and Mel Ott (151, 1929). Barry Bonds maxed out at 137 RBIs in 2001.

Flores likely won’t be joining the 140-RBI club, but it’s well within reason that he could break his career high of 71 RBIs if he continues cashing in on opportunities.

The Giants (24-14) were off Thursday and resume their six-game trip tonight in Minnesota.

Flores has had 41 plate appearances with runners in scoring position. Over those 41 plate appearances he has a slash line of .429/.512/.686. Among hitters with at least 40 plate appearances with RISP, Flores’ 1.198 OPS is third, trailing only the Mets’ Pete Alonso (1.397) and the Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández (1.266). Flores’ 27 RBIs with runners in scoring position are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo for the most in the majors. Three of his seven homers have come with runners in scoring position.

Flores isn’t the only Giant making the most of his opportunities. The Giants’ offense ranks 15th in OPS (.701) but eighth in runs scored (183) because of their collective .833 OPS with runners in scoring position. That is the third-best mark in baseball behind only the Dodgers (.922) and the Cubs (.862).

Along with Flores, San Francisco has six hitters with an OPS of at least .900 with runners in scoring position this season, a list that includes Mike Yastrzemski (1.165) and Tyler Fitzgerald (1.008).

What makes Flores’ RBI proficiency this season so fascinating is that he’s been roughly an average hitter with runners in scoring position for his entire career. Entering this season, Flores had a career .706 OPS with runners in scoring position. In 2022, the year Flores had a career-high 71 RBIs, he also had a career-high .940 OPS with runners in scoring position.