LOS ANGELES -- Ross Stripling wasn't at Dodger Stadium on Friday night for a matchup between his first big league team and his current one. The veteran right-hander is in Arizona preparing for a rehab start as he works his way back from lower back tightness, so he wasn't watching from the Giants dugout as a young right-hander on the other side nearly matched one of the most memorable debuts in MLB history.
Stripling threw 7 1/3 hitless innings at Oracle Park in 2016, but Dave Roberts made the gut-wrenching decision to pull the rookie once his pitch count got to an uncomfortable spot. Emmet Sheehan threw six hitless innings on Friday, and once again Roberts made a move as his rookie hit his limit.
For as often as Stripling's debut comes up, something usually gets forgotten. Except by Brandon Crawford.
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Does he remember how the Stripling game ended?
“Yeah, I sure do,” he said late Friday night, laughing. “I sure do.”
The Dodgers lost that game in 2016 after blowing a late lead. They did it Friday, too.
Seven years ago, Crawford won it with a walk-off homer off Joe Blanton in the 10th, spoiling Stripling’s debut. On Friday, he drove in the go-ahead run in a 7-5 win over the Dodgers, lining an RBI single to right in the top of the 11th.
San Francisco Giants
"I mean, this one was cool," Crawford said. "I liked the other one a little bit more, though."
There's nothing quite like hitting a walk-off at home against the team you grew up rooting against, but Friday night's wild win was certainly close. The Giants came back from a 4-0 deficit to take the lead in the eighth and then rallied in the 11th after the Dodgers stunned closer Camilo Doval.
With runners on the corners and one out in the 11th, Crawford considered a squeeze bunt. But he swung away and lined an Alex Vesia slider into right, bringing Patrick Bailey home a few moments after a daring tag-up and slide at third.
Austin Slater followed with a single that scored Luis Matos, which continued the night's theme. The Giants are not alone in breaking in talented rookies this year, and on Friday they got a look at some of Los Angeles' future.
In part because they had to replace two veterans who got hurt early in the game, the Dodgers used five rookies, one more than the Giants, who have made it the norm in recent weeks. Sheehan was wildly impressive in his debut, leaning heavily on an upper-90s sinker to become the latest rookie to absolutely baffle the Giants in his debut.
Coming into the game, the Giants had faced 10 starters making their debut over the last decade. They were averaging 1.7 runs per game off the newcomers, and Sheehan joined Stripling in taking a no-hitter deep into the night.
"He's got a nice heater," Kapler said. "He was pretty consistent with it at the top of the zone, and right at the top rail to a lot of our hitters. There were some near-misses, one from Matos, and Craw put some good swings on him as well."
Crawford said he thought back to the 2016 game as Sheehan came out of the game, noting that this time, "we had a little bit more work" to do. The Giants trailed 2-0 when Stripling came out of the game but tied it in the eighth on Trevor Brown's two-run homer. This time, it was Wilmer Flores with the two-run shot, with the offense then scoring three more runs in the eighth.
Like in 2016, the Giants needed extras to win it. Once again, it was Crawford, who saw seven years ago how these types of wins can build momentum. For some Giants, it's all a bit new, though.
"I've never really been a part of it," said Jakob Junis, who got the save. "I just think it gives everyone the confidence that no matter what is happening, and if we're down in the seventh, eighth inning, it's really not over this year for us. We can come back and win these games."