SAPPORO — With the Chiba Lotte Marines threatening to take control of the series, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters were looking for a good game out of starting pitcher Ryan Glynn. He responded with the game of his life.

Glynn came up big with seven shutout innings in the biggest game of the season to add an other chapter to what has been a strong season in the Fighters' 7-0 win in Game 3 of the second stage of the Pacific League Climax Series.

"Hands down the biggest game I've ever pitched in," Glynn said afterward. "When you're in a game like that you're at the apex, the top. It's competition and that is what us players live off. We hunger for that."

Glynn has come up in situations such as those all season for the Fighters. He's consistently aggressive with a strong fastball and at times been the saving grace for Nippon Ham in close games with minimal run support.

"You know what your going to get from Ry-no every time out there," Fighters manager Trey Hillman said. "He likes to compete, he likes to win and unfortunately he's probably the starting pitcher — I haven't calculated it yet — that's had the least run support."

Another added benefit of Glynn's big day is that he expects his wife and son to make the trip to Japan should the Fighters advance to the Japan Series. Understandably, he wasted little time sharing news of his performance with his family back in the States.

"I've already told them," Glynn said after Game 3. "It's was a good wakeup call today."

Priding himself on staying in control and never-wavering from his aggressive style of pitching, Glynn said he treated the game like just another start. Although staying composed was likely a challenge during Game 3, with 42,222 raucous mostly Fighters fans living and dying on every pitch at Sapporo Dome.

"Micheal (Nakamura) and Seggy (Fernando Seguignol) explained to me the atmosphere in this place during the playoffs," Glynn said. "I experienced it tonight and it is unreal."

Glynn came to the Fighters after a 52-game Major League Baseball career with stops with the Texas Rangers (1999-2001), Toronto Blue Jays (2004) and Oakland Athletics (2005).

He spent his first season in Japan with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles where he went 7-7 with a 3.96 ERA in 21 games.

This year, his first with the Fighters, Glynn emerged as one of the top pitchers in either league, recording nine wins, winning the 2007 inter-league MVP award and trailed only Lotte pitcher Yoshihisa Naruse and teammate Yu Darvish in Japanese baseball with a 2.21 ERA.

"He's pitched well against the entire league this this year," Marines manager Bobby Valentine said following his team's loss in Game 3. "He's a good pitcher and he pitched well tonight."

With the series tied at 1-1, Game 3 was critical for the Fighters. Glynn, though, remained relaxed.

"You have to take the approach that it's (just) another start," Glynn said.