The Los Angeles Dodgers will recall a rookie from Triple-A Oklahoma City to fill in for the injured Clayton Kershaw on Friday against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium.
Manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, that Landon Knack will finally get an opportunity to stick in the Dodgers’ big-league rotation.
It remains to be seen whether Knack will remain with the major league club through the end of the regular season and into the playoffs, but his first chance is Friday against the Cleveland Guardians.
This will be Knack’s sixth stint with the Dodgers this season. He is 2-2 with a 3.00 earned run average and 1.00 WHIP across 10 games (eight starts) for Los Angeles.
With Triple-A Oklahoma City, Knack has gone 4-3 with a 3.71 ERA in 14 games (12 starts).
The Dodgers placed starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw on the 15-day injured list on Saturday, just a day after he left his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning due to a bone spur on his left big toe.
It wasn’t a shock to see Kershaw land on the IL. Manager Dave Roberts mentioned that the 36-year-old lefty has been dealing with this bone spur on and off for “years.” Friday, it flared up so badly that he had trouble pushing off the mound.
As noted by Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw is wearing a walking boot to help him recover from the effects of a bone spur.
On Tuesday, Harris posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Clayton Kershaw came out on the field to play catch in normal shoes earlier, then went inside, put on a walking boot, and is now back out here throwing with it on. Dave Roberts said over the weekend that he thought Kershaw would need a boot as he recovers from his toe injury.”
Knack has been successful in combining a low-90s mph fastball with a curveball, slider, and changeup.
“I’ve done a good job mixing and keeping people in-between, showing that I have four pitches that I can throw for strikes and continue to use all four as a weapon”, Knack told Harris in July. “Just proving to myself that I can stay here, pitch here for a long time.”
