Landon Knack dud, Clayton Kershaw injury update make Dodgers playoff rotation even spookier

It feels safe to say that no one has missed Bobby Miller in the week since he was demoted for the second time this season. The Dodgers had to let go of Miller -- whose ERA after the best start of his career during the Seoul Series is an astonishing 9.54 -- for the time being, at least, and he definitely didn't deserve to be a postseason option. They opted instead to trust rookie Landon Knack, who's gone up and down from the majors to minors six times this season.

Knack looked pretty good through his first six starts, but things started to take an ugly turn in July. During his first start that month, he pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up four earned runs, including three homers. The Dodgers kicked him back to the bullpen for a long relief outing his next time up, but he still couldn't get away without giving up three more runs.

He's pitched 17 innings in September so far, and was on the mound against the Padres on Tuesday night, auditioning once again. He couldn't get through more than four innings before LA swapped him out with Brusdar Graterol. Knack gave up all four of San Diego's runs on the night, including a two-run homer to Jake Cronenworth.

Ahead of that night's game, which ended in a truly devastating triple play and horrible mismanagement on the part of Dave Roberts, the Dodgers also dropped a Clayton Kershaw update that put another nail into the coffin of Kershaw's season: he's in a "holding pattern" and won't face hitters this week.

Landon Knack didn't look like postseason material against Padres; Dodgers provide another upsetting Clayton Kershaw update

Basically, there was very little to be happy about on Tuesday night. Knack's a rookie in a tough spot; if the Dodgers didn't overwork their rotation and force so many pitchers to the IL, they wouldn't have to depend on him so heavily now, as well as however long the Dodgers last in October. It's not necessarily his fault that he couldn't totally rise to the challenge against one of the hottest teams in baseball, but it makes his chances of him stepping up in the postseason look very slim.

Kershaw's situation is even more tragic. He came back to the Dodgers this season because he wanted to get another shot at the World Series with the team that drafted him, and LA had given him every reason to believe that they were primed to win it all. Not only do the Dodgers not look primed anymore, but Kershaw probably won't even get to be a part of it if they manage to win.

Jack Flaherty will be on the mound for Wednesday night's game against the Padres, which does immediately engender a little more hope that this one will go the Dodgers' way. Overall, though, the rotation situation is looking bleaker by the day.