San Francisco Giants' Hector Sanchez is tagged at second by Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Luis Cruz on a double play in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles Wednesday, April 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

LOS ANGELES -- Tim Lincecum's rough 2012 starts often turned on one at-bat, one moment where he needed to be his old self and couldn't summon the right pitch. There were plenty of those moments Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, and at every turn, Lincecum pulled an escape act.

The result was a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on a night when Lincecum often looked headed for disaster.

In the first start of what he hopes will be a bounce-back season, Lincecum put 10 runners on base in five innings andthrew just 46 of his 91 pitches for strikes. But he didn't give up an earned run, and, most importantly, he earned his first win of the season and helped the Giants take a series victory.

"It was more competing than pitching," Lincecum said, smiling. "That's what I can take from this."

The Dodgers nearly opened the floodgates several times. The first inning included a single, two walks, a passed ball and a Matt Kemp fly ball to the warning track, but the Dodgers managed a lone unearned run. A walk to light-hitting pitcher Josh Beckett helped load the bases in the second inning, but Lincecum struck out Skip Schumaker and got Kemp, who is hitless in his last 25 at-bats against the Giants, to line out to center.

"He battled,"