LOS ANGELES — During the NLDS Game 2 matchup between the LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres there appeared to be some confrontation between Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar and the home team fans.
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In view of the incident that started it all, in the first inning Mookie Betts hit a high fly ball to left field that everyone in the stadium thought was a homer, but then it was discovered that Profar trolled the Dodgers fans by pretending at first like he didn't come down with the catch.
Jurickson Profar is officially the greatest troll in MLB pic.twitter.com/f2AAnilbJi
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) October 7, 2024
Even Betts was fooled as he was rounding the bases raising his arms, at the same time Profar could be seen jumping up and down while staring at the fans.
The natural sound is incredible when you realize almost everyone in the stadium thought it was a home run.
But not Jurickson Profar or Xander Bogaerts. pic.twitter.com/7OSMJptjL2
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) October 7, 2024
When it was finally revealed that Profar had the ball in his glove, the fans obviously were disheartened.
X/@awfulannouncing
Besides engaging in a verbal exchange most of the game, Profar further antagonized the Dodgers faithful later on by giving the fans in left field a baseball. Then they responded by throwing the ball back onto the field of play.
An angle of Jurickson Profar's interaction with the Dodgers fans in left field
(via @dodgers_geek) pic.twitter.com/kFXxz9PQ2v
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 7, 2024
Following this, there was a 12-minute delay in the seventh inning, as fans threw another baseball in the direction of Profar, and even started throwing trash.
The Padres-Dodgers game had a short delay after a fan appeared to throw a baseball near Jurickson Profar.
(via @MLBONFOX) pic.twitter.com/uP8XiazJWj
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 7, 2024
Evidently, they didn't forget about what had transpired in the first inning, when Profar robbed the home run off the bat of Betts, right in front of their faces, and then taunted them about it.
As a result of the chaos that ensued, Padres manager Mike Shildt had to come out, and so did the security, joining the umpire crew in left field.
Fans threw baseballs in the direction of San Diego left fielder Jurickson Profar and then tossed trash that caused a lengthy delay before the Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-2 on Sunday night to even their NL Division Series at a game apiece. https://t.co/EeED5vm55K pic.twitter.com/Q21MV5j3RS
— KTLA (@KTLA) October 7, 2024
Crew chief Dan Bellino gave a statement about what was going on.
"We were looking for a higher security presence out in the left-field corner to ensure that that behavior didn't continue. And to make sure that if anybody did throw anything out on the field they would be identified immediately and removed from the stadium."
That is, after identifying the exact perpetrators in the crowd, a couple fans were eventually ejected following this.
Game delay and 1 -Dodgers security staff member injured as a couple of fans are ejected. pic.twitter.com/T5DYMUJMM9
— AlexVnews (@alexvnews) October 6, 2024
To point out, this wasn't the only back-and-forth squabble Profar had Sunday night, as he also exchanged words with Dodgers catcher Will Smith, after fellow Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr., who hit two homers, was seemingly thrown at on purpose.
To note, these two players have history with each other, as Smith called Profar 'irrelevant' during a game back on April 13.
"I think you need to fix your eyes"-Profar to a reporter asking about what he said to Will Smith after Tatis got hit
Dude is hilarious 😂
From @MartyCaswell: https://t.co/3TIwV9Bv5i pic.twitter.com/Ud1wxD7pYR
— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) October 7, 2024
All in all, Profar got the last laugh as the Padres evened up the series 1-1, after winning the game 10-2, by way of hitting six home runs as a team.
Pure joy from Jurickson Profar after robbing a home run during a #postseason game 😁 #NLDS pic.twitter.com/xgDE4zQ0Ko
— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2024
Game 3 will be played on Tuesday, October 8 at Petco Park in San Diego at 9:08 pm ET.
