"The infamously clever fans at Citizens Bank Park merely offered scattered wolf whistles for Tim Lincecum. But Phillies manager Charlie Manuel did plenty of chirping after Lincecum's six shutout innings led the Giants to a 4-1 victory to take two of three in one of baseball's toughest venues.

The Giants hadn't won a regular-season series at Philadelphia since 2004. But they shut down the Phillies to win the NLCS last season. Manuel didn't like all the platitudes his hitters showered on the Giants' pitching staff back then.

He isn't about to praise them now.

Asked how his lineup could solve great pitchers like Lincecum and Matt Cain, Manuel responded, "They're good pitchers. You say they're great pitchers. To me, I don't know how great they are. I think as they move on into their careers, there's the longevity part and "... that's when the greatness might come by.

"When you say somebody is great "... tonight I saw a 90 (mph) fastball, 92 at the best. I saw a good change-up. I saw a breaking ball. I saw a cutter. Good pitching, but at the same time we can beat that. I've seen us do that."

If Manuel likes the cards he's holding, so does Lincecum -- especially now that the Giants have Carlos Beltran, who was 0 for 4 in his debut but might have begun casting subtle influence on the rest of the lineup."