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Tim Lincecum celebrates after clinching the World Series by winning Game 5.

ARLINGTON, Tex. -- In August, Tim Lincecum was lost.

The Cy Young awards he had won over the previous two seasons meant nothing as he struggled through the first rough patch of his career.

Lincecum went 0-5 over five starts that month, with a 7.82 ERA. He said he was “lost emotionally, and even physically.”

He responded by renewing his commitment to fitness, and refocused his energy on what had once made him successful. 

It paid off Monday night, in the biggest way and on the biggest stage of his career: a 3-1 victory over the Rangers in a clinching Game 5 of the World Series. Lincecum threw eight innings, giving up three hits and two walks while striking out 10. The Rangers’ only run scored on Nelson Cruz’s solo homer in the seventh inning.

“This was just meant to be,” he said, standing on the field after the game. “A lot of guys for a long time have wanted this to happen. To have it happen now is . . . excellent.”

In many ways, Lincecum is the eccentric face of the franchise. His nicknames – “The Freak,” “Big Time Timmy Jim” – hint at the marvel of his delivery, a slender man contorting himself to sling 93 mile-per-hour fastballs. His stoner vibe, pot bust and long hair have spawned a market of “Let Timmy Smoke” T-Shirts. Lincecum arrived at the park Monday wearing a bow tie.

Asked by an interviewer how he thought San Francisco would react to the win, he said: "A lot of beer flowing, smoke in the air, I'm hoping."

But the nicknames betray the reality that Lincecum was born to pitch on nights like this.

“He’s been throwing a baseball since he came out of the womb,” said pitching coach Dave Righetti. “You need performances like that to win. You need pitching performances to win.”

Lincecum squared off against Rangers ace Cliff Lee, finally giving fans the pitchers’ duel that was so widely anticipated in Game 1, yet never came close to fruition. In their first matchup, Lee allowed seven runs (six earned) in 4 2/3 innings, while Lincecum gave up four runs in 5 2/3.

Game 5 was different. Lincecum and Lee matched each other shutout frame for shutout frame, each ratcheting up the pressure with every consecutive zero.

Lee was sharp, but Lincecum was sharper. The Giants managed only three singles through six innings, with no runners reaching second. Lincecum didn’t give up his first hit until the fourth, and, except for Cruz’s homer, didn’t allow a Texas baserunner into scoring position for the entire game. Four of his final six outs came on strikeouts.

“Things built up a little bit before the game—I had some nerves out there in the bullpen—but it kind of went away after the first inning,” he said. “I was able to collect myself and be poised, and everything went from there.”

Lincecum went 4-1 over his five postseason starts, with a 2.19 ERA and 43 strikeouts over 37 innings. He’s just the 15^th pitcher in major league history to win four games in a single postseason.

He relied on his slider as his out pitch Monday, utilizing fastballs and the occasional changeup as alternatives. He rarely went to his curve. One of the weapons in his arsenal was actually inspired by his opponent.

“I really wanted to get the bats in quickly—quick-pitch some people if I could,” he said. “Cliff Lee was doing that really effectively against Tampa Bay. You see these little things; and never know what can help.”

What Lee did less effectively tonight was pitch to Edgar Renteria. With Cody Ross and Juan Uribe on base after each singled to open the seventh (both men advanced on the first sacrifice bunt of Aubrey Huff’s career), Renteria hit a 2-0 cutter that, he said in broken English, “no cut.”

Lincecum made it hold up. Although he allowed Cruz’s homer in the bottom half of the inning, he ended up striking out two of the next three men he faced.

"You learn from your adversity," he said. "I learned from mine, and turned it around. And now, here we are."