PHOENIX--San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum, pitching this spring as if he's ready to add another Cy Young award to his mantel, unleashed the bombshell Wednesday that makes him so darn good.

His diet.

Nutritionists around the world may frown. Certainly the folks at Jenny Craig will scream in horror. But Lincecum revealed his secret, keeping his weight at 168 pounds.

He dines regularly at In-N-Out burgers, the popular fast-food burger joints on the West Coast.

His traditional fare?

Three Double-Doubles. Two fries. A chocolate-strawberry shake. Ketchup please, but hold the lettuce and tomatoes.

"I'm not a big vegetable guy,'' he says.

Let's see, three burgers at 590 calories. Two fries at 395 calories. A shake at 590 calories.

The grand total: 3,150 calories.

"I've gone away from eating more cheeseburgers,'' Lincecum says, "and just adding patties.''

Geez, no wonder the dude put on 11 pounds this spring.

When asked if he has any idea what his cholesterol looks like, Lincecum laughed, "Probably not very good. But my metabolism is through the roof.''

Considering Lincecum has so much difficulty putting on weight, and teammate Pablo Sandoval has so much trouble shedding pounds, why not bring Pablo along for a few nights of dining?

"I don't throw that in his face,'' Lincecum says. "I go solo.''

If Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young winners, keeps pitching like this, he'll have every pitcher in baseball standing in line before games.

Lincecum, facing what likely will be the Chicago White Sox's opening-day lineup, yielded just three hits and one run in 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven.

He is 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA this spring, calling it the greatest spring of his career, and much further along that he's ever been with two weeks before opening day.

"I don't think I've felt this good in any spring,'' says Lincecum. "I've worked hard.''

Lincecum, who says he actually feels stronger after pitching an extra month leading the Giants to their first World Series title since 1954, can be found running the stadium stairs for 35 minutes the day after his starts while pumping weights in the gym. He works on his legs the following day.

"If he had another month [off], '' Giants manager Bruce Bochy says, "he probably would be out of shape. He looks great. He's right where he needs to be right now.

"He's right on target for opening day.''

Gulp.