SAN FRANCISCO — On the lengthy list of Tim Lincecum quirks is his ability to remain stress free on game days. The Freak does not get freaked out.

A few hours before taking the mound Thursday night, for example, the Giants' pitcher crawled into an empty laundry cart in the clubhouse and reclined for a few minutes, looking as relaxed as a pair of old sweatpants.

Lincecum got up in time to lead the Giants to an 8-3 win over the Cubs at AT&T Park, a victory that provided, ahem, a laundry list of accomplishments.

He strengthened his case for starting the All-Star Game by improving to 10-1 with a 2.49 ERA. In six innings, he struck out eight to push his league-leading total to 122.

He improved to 9-0 in 13 starts after Giants losses this season.

Most important, he helped the his team maintain its dream of contending in the embarrassingly vulnerable National League West.

That last item might sound nutty considering the preseason expectations, but by salvaging a split in a four-game series against the Cubs — the National League's best team — the Giants remained just five games out of first place in an Olive Oyl-weak division.

"Five games out. Do the math: We're in a pennant race," General Manager Brian Sabean said.

The Giants can back up that talk starting Friday when the Los Angeles Dodgers arrive for a three-game series. The Dodgers are in second place, 3 › games ahead of the Giants.

"No one in this division is standing out from anyone, so even though the records don't look that great, we're still in the race," said Rich Aurilia, whose pinch-hit three-run homer in the seventh iced Thursday's game. "Will this be the series to end all series? No, but it is important.'

Manager Bruce Bochy said: "We're in this thing. We just need to get some consistency and get on a roll here." The reason the Giants are suddenly answering questions about the division race, rather than their chances of losing 100 games, is that their young starters are keeping them afloat.

Lincecum, of course, is the symbol of that rotation. The pitcher was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week under the headline "The Freak."

Lucky for him, Lincecum is too young, at 24, to know much about the SI jinx. He said the only curse he knows of is from being on the cover of the John Madden video game.

So the worry-free pitcher performed as he usually does in running his career-high winning streak to six games.

"It's just a magazine. I'm ready for whatever," Lincecum said.

He allowed Derrek Lee's run-scoring single in the first and Mark DeRosa's two-run double in the sixth, but that was it as he registered a quality start for the 15th time in 17 tries.

Lincecum also singled home a run in the second inning, giving the Giants the lead for good at 2-1, and then scored from first on Fred Lewis' triple.

"That's the fastest I've seen him go," Bochy said. "He might be my pinch runner now."

Lincecum improved to 14-0 for his career when the Giants score at least three runs for him. He had help this time from two bats that had been cold. Aaron Rowand, in a 19-for-100 skid, singled twice and scored two runs. Omar Vizquel ended an 0-for-18 stretch by going 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI.

Aurilia delivered the biggest blast, touching reliever Carlos Marmol for a shot into the left-field seats.

Marmol entered play Thursday having limited opponents to a .136 batting average. But it was the second day in a row in which he surrendered a three-run home run to the Giants.

The question now is, can the Giants keep the surprises coming, beginning with their rivals from the south today?

"This is an important stretch for us," Bochy said. "This could play a critical role in the way our season goes."