Landon Knack of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Getty
Tarik Skubal #29 of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Getty
The back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Atlanta Braves 1-0 on Thursday, suffering only their fourth series sweep of the season, but third since the All-Star break.
On Friday, the Dodgers look to get back on the winning track when they send Tarik Skubal to the mound in Detroit to face the Tigers, the team that traded the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner to Los Angeles at the deadline.
Before the Tigers series opener, the Dodgers made a decision affecting the future of a pitcher who owns a World Series championship ring with the Dodgers.
Landon Knack is back on the injured list, and this time there isn't even an official explanation yet. Oklahoma City placed the right-hander on the 7-day injured list on August 27, sidelining the Los Angeles Dodgers depth arm two weeks after his latest big-league option.
No specific diagnosis had not been announced as of Thursday. A 7-day IL stint at Triple-A typically signals something short-term, but for a pitcher who has already lost most of a season to injury, even a minor issue reads as one more setback in a year that keeps circling back to the trainer's room.
GettyLandon Knack of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Knack was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Aug. 13, a day after the Dodgers recalled him for a brief cameo. That capped a summer of shuttling, with Knack working almost exclusively as a bulk reliever whenever Los Angeles had a need.
Knack's lone postseason work came during that 2024 championship run, used strictly as bullpen depth. He closed out an NLDS Game 4 shutout of the Padres with a clean inning, then imploded in NLCS Game 2 against the Mets , surrendering a grand slam to Mark Vientos in a two-inning, five-run outing.
He settled down in World Series Game 4, soaking up four innings of one-run relief in a blowout loss to the Yankees . True Blue LA 's postseason review noted Knack "was the reason the relay imploded" in that NLCS collapse, though he steadied himself for the World Series outing that followed. His career postseason line stands at a 7.71 ERA over seven innings, and he has no appearances since. He earned a ring but never became an October weapon.
His most recent big-league line reads 0-0 with a 5.87 ERA and one save across three appearances covering 7 2/3 innings, a stretch that included a 2 2/3-inning save against Kansas City . Before that recall, Knack had been dominant at Triple-A, going 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA over seven appearances , striking out 26 batters in 27 innings.
GettyTarik Skubal #29 of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This latest absence follows a spring that cost him more than three months. Knack opened 2026 on the injured list with what the team described as an oblique strain , landing there in late March before a transfer to the 60-day injured list kept him out until midsummer. He made three rehab starts, allowing three runs with 10 strikeouts across seven innings, before Los Angeles activated him July 11.
Knack's path to that roster spot traces back to a snub. The right-hander went undrafted in 2019 as a junior at East Tennessee State.
He spent that offseason in the weight room, adding ticks to a fastball that jumped from the low 90s into the high 90s. Dodgers vice president of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino noticed.
"He went from a 90-mph guy to a 95-mph guy. Everything up-ticked," Gasparino said, according to True Blue LA . Knack backed that up with a dominant, pandemic-shortened senior season, posting a 1.08 ERA with 51 strikeouts against a single walk in 25 innings. Los Angeles took him 60th overall, well under slot value.
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