World Series Game 3 - Giants" Lincecum Is Special Weapon in Bullpen DETROIT - Players love watching their manager's postgame news conference on television after a winning World Series game. Tim Lincecum, the struggling regular-season starter turned unhittable postseason reliever, didn't need a TV to monitor Manager Bruce Bochy's comments after Game 3 on Saturday night. He sat right in the interview room, waiting his turn at the podium with the winning pitcher, Ryan Vogelsong. Dressed in blue jeans, a checked dress shirt over a three-button long-sleeve T-shirt and a gray knit ski cap, Lincecum listened intently while Bochy reaffirmed that Lincecum would be back in the rotation next year. For now, Lincecum remains San Francisco's most dominant reliever, and one of the reasons the Giants stand one win from their second world championship in three years. Lincecum struck out three over two and a third hitless innings as the bridge between Vogelsong and closer Sergio Romo in a 2-0 victory. Over five postseason relief appearances and 13 innings, Lincecum has allowed three hits and one earned run while striking out 17 and winning his only decision. The Tigers haven't had many hits against any Giants pitcher in this Series, and are still looking for their first off Lincecum in four and two-thirds innings. His 0.69 earned run average this postseason is not a record; Goose Gossage (1981 Yankees), Mariano Rivera (1998 Yankees) and John Rocker (1999 Braves) each posted 0.00 E.R.A."s with a minimum 13 innings. But Lincecum has performed even better in relief than he did as a starter in 2010, when he went 2-0 in the World Series and 4-1 in postseason. "You know, some things are hard to explain," Bochy said. But Timmy, he's an incredible talent, and he's a great starter. It just so happened it worked out that we thought he could help us in the bullpen, which he's done an amazing job. But he's a starter, and that's where he's going next year. Bringing the hard-throwing Lincecum in for the sixth inning on a night with temperatures in the mid-to-high 40s seemed preposterously unfair. Only two of the nine batters he faced hit the ball out of the infield. The only base runners reached on a walk and shortstop Brandon Crawford's throwing error, though Crawford also made a sprawling stop to throw out Miguel Cabrera on a broken-bat grounder in the eighth. "I think just being able to contribute is the biggest thing for me," Lincecum said. I know this season I didn't do exactly what I wanted to do. So to go out there and just be able to do something for the team, whether that's for two innings or an inning or four innings, that's really my goal. Bochy dropped Lincecum, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, from the postseason rotation after a 10-15 season with a 5.18 E.R.A. Restored for one start in the National League Championship Series, Lincecum lasted four and two-thirds innings in an 8-3 loss in Game 4. The Giants won the next three games without Lincecum pitching to advance to the World Series, where Lincecum has twice now turned in strong outings. He also tossed two and one-third hitless innings in Game 1, striking out five. "Not surprising at all," Vogelsong said. What sticks out the most to me, when the lights come on on the biggest stage, he's shown everybody what he's truly about. He could have been upset about going to the bullpen, and not one second did you ever see that from him. He just went down there and came out firing BBs, and he's been really impressive. These performances conjure up images of how good Lincecum could be over a full season of relief - say, 70 appearances and more than 100 innings. "That thought never crossed my mind," he said. Right now the bullpen role is for the World Series, and that's my mind-set. I'm just going to be out there as a safety net kind of thing, and if I can pick up innings here and there in these games, that's what I'm there to do.