Petit trying to hold his own vs. Kershaw (Nats lose 4-1)

LOS ANGELES - The highly anticipated Stephen Strasburg vs. Clayton Kershaw matchup didn't happen, but Yusmeiro Petit is doing what he can to at least keep this thing interesting.

Forced into emergency duty when Strasburg was scratched with a strained upper back, Petit faced the daunting challenge of matching up with perhaps the best pitcher on the planet and holding the Dodgers lineup in check along the way.

Three innings in, Petit has made just one mistake. That mistake, though, sailed over the center field fence, putting the Nationals in an early 1-0 hole.

Justin Turner clobbered an 85 mph fastball over the plate from Petit with two outs in the bottom of the first, sending it soaring over the center field fence at Dodger Stadium.

Otherwise, Petit has acquitted himself well, especially under these unusual circumstances. Pitching exclusively out of the stretch throughout, he has retired the other nine Los Angeles batters he has faced, keeping his pitch count at a manageable 43 through three innings.

Petit even has produced the Nationals' lone hit so far off Kershaw with a two-out chopper up the middle in the top of the third. His teammates haven't been nearly as fortunate, flailing away at Kershaw's full repertoire his first time through the order.

None of the nine batters who has made an out against Kershaw so far has managed to get the ball out of the infield, though leadoff man Michael A. Taylor did scorch a line drive to second that was snagged by Chase Utley to open the game.

Kershaw has four strikeouts, with a pitch count of 49.

Update: We're through five innings here, and while Petit is doing what he can, it hasn't been enough so far. The Dodgers strung together a pair of hits in the bottom of the fourth (Corey Seager's leadoff double, then Turner's RBI single to right) to increase their lead to 2-0. Then Joc Pederson launched a 2-0 pitch from Petit down the right field to open the bottom of the fifth and make it 3-0. Petit has put only four men on base, but three of them have scored. The Nats, on the other hand, have put only two men on base so far versus Kershaw. And neither of them has advanced beyond first base. Tough to score runs like that.

Update II: To their credit, the Nats have given themselves chances against Kershaw the last two innings. They got a one-out double from Taylor in the top of the sixth but couldn't advance him when Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper each struck out. Then they put together three singles in the top of the seventh, including Anthony Rendon's RBI to right. But Howie Kendrick made a sliding catch in left field to rob Danny Espinosa of a potentially game-tying hit, and then pinch-hitter Chris Heisey flied out to left to strand two men in scoring position and leave the Nats trailing 3-1 after the top of the seventh. And with his pitch count over 100, Kershaw is done for the night. So the Nats were set to get a crack at the Dodgers bullpen, down two runs with two innings to go. Except Oliver Perez entered for the bottom of the seventh and promptly gave up a big insurance run. So now it's 4-1, with the Nats down to their last six outs.

Update III: And that's all she wrote. Despite some late opportunities to make something out of this game, the Nats ended up losing, 4-1. A valient effort by Petit in an emergency situation wasn't enough, not on a night when Kershaw was close to peak form. Now we'll find out what exactly happened to prevent Strasburg from making his scheduled start, and when we're likely to see him take the mound again.