PHILADELPHIA — The Giants used their 21-year-old rookie with a drawl as syrupy as his curveball. They used their eccentric closer with the Mr. Disguise-O black beard. They even used their two-time Cy Young award winner, on a single day of rest.

The Giants became NL West champions because of their top flight pitching staff. And they stretched out nearly all of their best arms to reach a pennant Saturday night.

They used three-fourths of their playoff rotation to subdue the powerful Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6, and Juan Uribe snuck a tiebreaking home run over the right field scoreboard in the eighth inning as the Giants won 3-2 at Citizens Bank Park to win the National League Championship Series.

You don't usually advance to the World Series in what pitchers call a "Johnny Wholestaff" game. But when you have the Giants' big equipment, anything is possible. Both Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner, young studs of the Giants' rotation, came out of the bullpen to help nail down this win.

Uribe's home run off Ryan Madson was the Giants' first since Cody Ross went deep in Game 2, and it was the margin that sent the Giants to their fourth NL championship since moving to San Francisco in 1958. They have never won a World Series, but they'll get that chance against the Texas Rangers, starting Wednesday in San Francisco.