The scary part about Tim Lincecum’s performance Saturday was the fact he didn’t have his ace stuff.

Yes, Lincecum made the Phillies look silly, but we pelted him for seven hits. We had runners on base.

But when the pressure mounted, “The Beast” reared its ugly head.

The sad part is, Joe Blanton pitched a hell of a game. The Giants are a terrible offensive team, so all they did was hit soft loopers to the outfield, or grounders that found holes. Juan Uribe’s two sacrific flys were the difference.

The Phillies’ offense is sturggling  right now. They’ve been dreadful with runners in scoring position during this current seven-game road trip.

Cole Hamels takes the mound today (4:05 p.m. EST) versus Barry Zito. Hamels (7-5,  4.42 ERA) is 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in his previous five starts, while Zito (6-10, 4.54 ERA) owns a 2-1 record and a 3.50 ERA lifetime against the Phillies.

Cole Hamels is still working himself back into World Series MVP form.

This is a big start for Hamels for two reasons: A) With a win, the Phillies would split the four-game series against the Giants AND give the team a 4-3 road trip; and B) Hamels has to prove to himself and the organization that, while Cliff Lee is a Cy Young winner, Hamels is still the ace of the staff. He’s the NLCS MVP and World Series MVP. And he knows, better than any pitcher on the Phillies’ staff, how to pitch effectively in clutch situations.

Lee’s gem Friday night should motivate Hamels big time.

If you missed Cliff Lee’s Phillies debut, shame on you.

Gem isn’t even the right word to describe the performance of Lee, who pitched a complete game four-hitter in a 4-1 victory over the Giants

Not only did he deliver from the mound, Lee swung the bat, too. He got two hits, including a double, and scored a run.

He also fielded the ball pretty well.

You couldn’t ask for a better debut. It went beyond expectation.

Cliff Lee was half-man, half-amazing.

He breezed through the first five innings (throwing less than 60 pitches). Juan Uribe got the first hit off Lee with one out in the sixth.

The fast-working, left-hander finished with six strikeouts.

The Phillies didn’t do much offensively to support their new ace, until the seventh inning. Jayson Werth snapped the team’s 0-for-28 skid with runners in scoring position, driving in two runs with the bases loaded.

Cliff Lee had it all going on in his first start with the Phillies .

Werth homered, singled and knocked in three runs.