"Matt Cain needed this win. His teammates won't say it. His manager won't say it. He won't, and shouldn't, admit it.

But his 3-0 victory over the Phillies on Tuesday in Game 3 of the NLCS validated him as a force in the game, revealing the pitcher he was always meant to be. He threw seven shutout innings against one of the most daunting lineups in baseball, delivering a performance that would guarantee a win for virtually any pitcher, except Matt Cain.

Nobody looks as great on the mound and as mediocre on paper as the Giants' big right-hander. But Tuesday's win began dismantling the funhouse mirror that routinely distorts his accomplishments.

Consider his results over the last two starts, games that carried as much weight as any he had pitched in five full seasons in the majors. On his birthday Oct. 1, Cain had a chance to beat the Padres and clinch the National League West. He lasted just four innings, only the second time all season that he hadn't gotten through at least the fifth, and lost 6-4.

His start in Game 2 of the playoff series with Atlanta yielded a more characteristic Cain disappointment: 6 2/3 innings, seven hits, no earned runs, one unearned and a no-decision in a 5-4 defeat. Great effort, no W. It had become the Cain special, and the explanation for his incongruous career stats: a 57-62 record and an impressive 3.45 ERA.

Giants fans know all about Cain's misfortunes and respect his refusal to let frustration devour him. But a defeat in Tuesday's playoff game, even if he hadn't taken the loss, would have generated suspicions about his ability to nail down the big win. Instead, he pitched like a champ, reasserting that while Tim Lincecum is the heart of the Giants' rotation, he is the spine.

"When he got in trouble, he even got better, seemed like," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

Cain didn't get into a lot of trouble. He allowed only two hits, but hit two batters and walked three. After he hit Carlos Ruiz and then walked pinch-hitter Ross Gload with two outs in the seventh, manager Bruce Bochy paid a visit to the mound. He said a few words and walked away quickly, as if he were eager to let Cain get back to work."