"How nice of little Cody to let all his friends play, too.

The Giants went up two games to one in the National League Championship Series on Tuesday because of a heaping helping of Matt Cain backed by a bunch of hitters who finally got to feel those back slaps that Cody Ross had been monopolizing.

Ross extracted his usual pound of flesh, driving in the first run in the 3-0 victory against Philadelphia at AT&T Park, but he had help.

Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez and backbenchers Edgar Renteria and Aaron Rowand all delivered big hits against left-hander Cole Hamels in a swing victory, which forces the Phillies to win at least once over the next two games just to get the series back home.

Much will be made of the two-out RBI hits by Ross, Huff and Sanchez against the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP, and the important rally-starting hits by Renteria and Rowand. But even they know they were supporting players to one Big Daddy from Tennessee.

"Our MVP today was Matt Cain," Rowand said.

Cain had never beaten the Phillies. Over the years, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins were Cain's big daddies, pummeling him for a combined 13 hits and four homers in 25 at-bats - until Cain showed 43,320 fans why history is just that.

He held the Phillies to singles by Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard over seven innings. Javier Lopez continued his mastery of lefties Utley and Howard in a 1-2-3 eighth and Brian Wilson secured his fourth save in five Giants wins this postseason. He allowed Rollins' one-out single before getting Raul Ibañez to hit into a double play.

"Anytime you can go out and play behind a guy like Matt Cain when he's throwing the way he did today," Rowand said, "it's great to contribute and help us get where we want to get: the World Series.""