"Giants manager Bruce Bochy is a lot more shrewd than the ol' galoot lets on, as the Los Angeles Dodgers discovered while rifling through the rule book a couple of nights ago.

So do you think Bochy can find some creative means to pit Matt Cain against the Arizona Diamondbacks, oh, 10 more times this season?

It was a dream matchup again in the Giants' 3-0 victory Thursday night at Chase Field.

Cain (8-8) continued his utter dominance over the NL West's worst team, limiting the Diamondbacks to three hits over eight innings. He also continued the Giants' run of terrific starting pitching out of the All-Star break.

And while it's a little early to be anything beyond symbolic, the Giants moved into the NL wild-card lead, a half-game in front of the Cincinnati Reds.

"What a game he pitched," Bochy said. "He had everything going tonight, locating the fastball in and out, locating his breaking ball. You don't see too many games like that here."

Buster Posey extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a run-scoring single in the first inning, and little Andres Torres showed more than popgun power with a solo shot in the third that soared over the 413-foot marker in center field.

The Diamondbacks are ready to lock Cain in a broom closet and swallow the key. The right-hander tossed a one-hit shutout against them at AT&T Park on May 28, and the frustration began anew Thursday.

In two starts, Cain has held Arizona to four hits and three walks in 17 shutout innings. He also matched his season high with nine strikeouts Thursday — the same number of Diamondbacks he fanned in May.

Arizona first baseman Adam LaRoche was so defeated that he tried to bunt his way on base in the seventh inning. Justin Upton simply threw his bat and helmet after striking out in the eighth.

Cain enjoyed the feedback.

"It definitely gives you some confidence to see that," he said. "But it's a day-to-day thing. It can change. So you keep going back to your game plan and keep finding ways to get these guys out."

Brian Wilson pitched the ninth for his 27th save as the Giants won for the 13th time in 17 games.

The Giants keep riding a few unexpected contributions, including Torres' consistent production and Posey's rapid arrival to stardom. Cain credited Posey with calling a simple game plan behind the plate, too."