LOS ANGELES -- In an unusual repeat of history, the Giants pulled out a victory after being held hitless for most of the game by a Dodgers pitcher making his MLB debut.

On April 8, 2016, in the first game of his big league career, current Giant Ross Stripling threw 7 1/3 hitless innings at then-AT&T Park before San Francisco ultimately won against the bullpen. So when L.A.’s No. 13 prospect, Emmet Sheehan, didn’t allow a hit through six in his debut on Friday at Dodger Stadium, there was precedent to suggest that the Giants could still get back into it.

Sure enough, they came roaring back to beat the Dodgers, 7-5, in the 11-inning series opener, a fifth straight win for San Francisco.

“I thought about it when the starter came out a little bit, yeah,” said Brandon Crawford, the only player in the lineup both on Friday and in that 2016 game. “The other one was [2-0] when Stripling came out, so we had to do a little more work. But yeah, I definitely thought about it and was hoping that we would get to the ‘pen, obviously.”

Indeed, Friday’s marathon was a much more hard-earned and, in some ways, painful victory. Just ask Wilmer Flores, who put San Francisco on the board with a two-run home run in the seventh inning -- but at some personal cost.

With one out and a runner on first -- Thairo Estrada, who had greeted reliever Brusdar Graterol with the Giants’ first hit of the game -- Flores fouled a 97.7 mph sinker directly off the top of his left foot, his shin guard only doing the minimum to shield him. A visit from manager Gabe Kapler and a trainer ended with Flores staying in to complete his at-bat by bashing a hanging slider to over the left-field wall, pulling the Giants to within two runs.

It was Flores’ first home run since May 5, a span of 82 plate appearances.

Though he was able to complete one of the more painful home run trots of his career, Flores did not stay in for the defensive half of the inning, with Casey Schmitt taking over at third base.

“It hurts, yeah,” said Flores. “It’s a sensitive spot. We’re doing a CT scan tomorrow morning, but it's pretty sore right now.”

In the eighth, with runners on first and second, one out and left-hander Victor González on the mound, Kapler opted to leave Joc Pederson in to hit despite the unfavorable matchup.

“We had a little bit of a short bench in some ways tonight,” said Kapler. “But also, we have a lot of confidence in Joc in big moments to work good at-bats.”

That trust paid off, with Pederson singling home Crawford to cut L.A.’s lead to one run. Estrada tied it on a sacrifice fly, and Schmitt, whose playing time has been limited recently due to struggles at the plate, put the Giants ahead with an RBI infield single.

The dramatics didn’t end there, as the Dodgers retied the game against Camilo Doval in the ninth. After both teams went scoreless in the 10th, the Giants managed to break through with a pair of runs off left-hander Alex Vesia in the 11th, thanks to RBI singles from Crawford and Austin Slater.

With Los Angeles committing baffling baserunning in the bottom of the frame to help to bail out befuddling San Francisco defense, the Giants managed to hold on, tying their Dodger Stadium win total from last season. The Giants have now come back to win in the late innings in three of their last four games.

“These guys really grinded hard today and they have over the last several games,” said Kapler. “I’m really proud of them and impressed by them right now.”