Monday’s series opener against the Washington Nationals lost some luster as the club announced just over one hour prior to first pitch that Stephen Strasburg was scratched from the start due to an upper back strain.
Strasburg this season is 10-0 with a 2.90 ERA, 2.83 FIP, 1.07 WHIP and 118 strikeouts in 14 starts. Washington is 13-1 in his outings. The Dodgers instead face someone their quite familiar with in Yusmeiro Petit.
The right-hander makes his first start since May 23, 2015. Petit has appeared in 17 games out of the bullpen, posting a 2.81 ERA, 4.25 FIP and 1.09 WHIP over 32 innings pitched. His longest relief appearance this season is 4.2 innings, back on April 24.
Petit started 21 of 90 games from 2012-2015 with the San Francisco Giants. He’s a lifetime 1-4 with a 5.64 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 17 career games (five starts) against the Dodgers.
The change leaves Clayton Kershaw as the lone ace taking the mound at Dodger Stadium. He looks to both continue with his dominant season and extend the Dodgers’ three-game winning streak.
Kershaw is 10-1 with a 1.58 ERA, 1.64 FIP and 0.66 WHIP in 14 starts. Additionally, he leads the Majors with 133 strikeouts compared to just seven walks, and is averaging 7.71 innings per start this season.
Kershaw has fared extremely well against the Nationals in his career. In 13 games (12 starts) he is 9-2 with a 2.09 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 82 innings. He faced them twice in 2015, throwing 16 scoreless innings and giving up just six hits while striking out 22.
Nationals right fielder and reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper is 1-for-12 with a home run and seven strikeouts against Kershaw. Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy, who is batting .358 on the season, hit two home runs off Kershaw in the 2015 NL DivisionSeries while he was a member of the New York Mets.
The Dodgers did not activate Yasiel Puig from the disabled list, which was expected to be the case. As a result, Trayce Thompson remains the stater in right field. Joc Pederson is in center, and Howie Kendrick gets the nod in left.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Chase Utley
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
RF: Trayce Thompson
CF: Joc pederson
LF: Howie Kendrick
C: Yasmani Grandal
P: Clayton Kershaw
Nationals lineup
CF: Michael Taylor
LF: Jayson Werth
RF: Bryce Harper
2B: Daniel Murphy
1B: Ryan Zimmerman
C: Wilson Ramos
3B: Anthony Rendon
SS: Danny Espinosa
P: Stephen Strasburg
