By Morris Phillips

This time, Tim Lincecum pitched his way to a no-hitter.  He really pitched and looked good doing it.

Earlier this season, manager Bruce Bochy had to come get Lincecum after five innings even as the Freak held the Cubs hitless and scoreless.  But he threw 32 pitches in a Houdini-like first inning and 96 pitches in total.  Like a lot of Lincecum’s starts over the last three seasons, the outing was a struggle.

“He worked so hard out there,” Bochy said in why he decided to pull Timmy.  “It was time.”

Last year in San Diego when Lincecum pitched his first no-no, he needed 148 pitches.  The whole Giants’ organization feared the marathon outing that night would led to injury, ineffectiveness or both.  Most of the baseball pundits weighed in too.  Lincecum lost his next start after the All-Star break and went on to lose 14 games versus 10 wins.  The no-no didn’t kill Lincecum, but it didn’t reverse his trend of good and bad, always with slightly more bad, either.

That night Timmy threw a whopping 54 balls.  He struck out 13 Padres, but it was no masterpiece.  He walked four and once again… those 148 pitches.  What pitcher throws that many pitches and accomplishes anything meaningful?

This time, Lincecum was good from the start.  Bochy says he saw it immediately.

“It was just the way he was locked in,” Bochy said of Lincecum’s early pitches Wednesday.  “He looked more compact, putting less effort in it, and hitting his spots.  Sometimes he makes it a little too hard out there.”

Rarely did Lincecum throw fastballs.  Nothing new there.  In receiving his new, bonus baby contract that pays him $17 million this season, he obviously had already convinced the Giants that he could remake himself.  Along with his durability and competitive makeup, GM Brian Sabean, Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti were convinced Lincecum could get it done without his blazing fastball of yesteryear.

And he was that guy on Wednesday: great command, downward action on all of his breaking pitches and changeups while facing a lineup prone to getting itself out.  So without pause, that’s what transpired.

“Today I just tried to be more efficient, take what they gave me,” Lincecum said.  “They were giving me a lot of ground balls and fly balls.  I just tried to get the first out (inning after inning) and go from there.”

So where does the Franchise go from here?  Hopefully to a winning record for the first time since 2010.  He’s 6-5 after beating San Diego with a 4.42 ERA.  Prior to the historic second no-hitter against the same opponent–a feat accomplished only by Hall of Famer Addie Joss in 1910—Lincecum ranked among the bottom five NL starters in ERA through 15 starts.  In 2012, his ERA topped five (5.18), 2013 was incrementally better (4.42), so Timmy still got some work to do if he’s to complete his transformation.

“Sometimes less is more, and that’s what I think if anything, hopefully he learned today,” Bochy said when asked about Lincecum’s new ways.

One thing’s for sure: Lincecum’s in the right place.  AT&T Park roared with excitement in anticipation and then completion of the feat in the ninth inning.  The outs the Padres made were free of drama, but that did little to temper the building excitement in the stands.  His Giants’ teammates played their roles astutely in between innings: short bursts of encouragement, nothing different than normal even down to some playful banter with Tim Hudson.  When it was over, the embraces from his teammates were genuine and powerful.

In the clubhouse, Bochy made sure to thank his pitcher for putting a halt to a seriously horrid stretch. The Giants avoided a sixth-straight home loss for the first time since 2008.  In going 4-11 in their last 15 games, the big NL West lead the club enjoyed has evaporated.  Even with the no-no and the win, the Dodgers remain just three games back in the division.

“This club needed something because they’ve gone through some tough times,” Bochy said.

The axiom never rang more true; coming to the ballpark, you never know what you’re going to get.  In that respect, the Giants and Tim Lincecum are a lot alike.

The Giants were the team with the best start to a season by any team since 2005.  Then they went feeble against some of the least imposing competition out there.  Against the Padres, it took three days for them to figure out San Diego’s struggling.  After the loss, the Padres are hitting .182 in June, and you could have seen leadoff hitter Will Venable’s 0 for 4 afternoon before your ticket was scanned at one of the stadium gates.  Venable led off for the Padres Wednesday despite a season batting average that now sits at .199.

But those last-place guys wore down Matt Cain on Monday, and smashed Tim Hudson on Tuesday.

Lincecum’s season been up and down similar to the last three seasons.  He lost his previous start in Arizona by allowing four runs and seven hits while striking out just one guy. From start to start, he’s an asset or a liability, but in total, he’s all history.

With the no-hitter, Lincecum joins Sandy Koufax, Roy Halladay and Randy Johnson as the only pitchers to have multiple Cy Young awards and multiple no-no’s.  He’s one of only four active pitchers to have thrown multiple no-hitters (Mark Buehrle, Homer Bailey and Justin Verlander) and Bailey, Nolan Ryan and Koufax are the only other guys to throw two no-hitters within a 12-month period.

How about two no-hitters, two Cy Young’s and two World Series titles?  Only Lincecum and Koufax on that list.

On Thursday, the Giants welcome the Reds with Ryan Vogelsong facing Cincinnati’s Mike Leake at 7:15pm.