Things got heated late in Sunday’s second NL game between the Padres and the Dodgers when a fan in the stands at Dodger Stadium threw a ball onto the field at Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar.
The incident caused a several-minute delay in the seventh inning, likely due to Profar’s exchange with a fan after taking a home run off Mookie Betts against the wall in the first inning.
The Padres won 10-2, tying the series at 1-1.
Dodgers fans began throwing things onto the field, so the umpires gave Jurickson Profar an outfield guard. (Harry Howe/Getty Images)
A fan throws the ball to Profar from the outfield stands.
When Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish took the mound for the first time in the seventh inning, there was a roar in the left field seats. Profar was exchanging words with fans in the stands, and things were clearly heated.
Then a fan threw a ball at Profar from the stands.
Padres manager Mike Shildt then appeared on the field as the umpires and Padres players gathered around the outside edge of the infield. Profar was visibly shaken as he spoke to his teammates and referees.
A public address announcer then warned fans not to throw anything on the field. After more than three minutes had passed, Profar shook his head in agreement with the referee and trotted back to his defensive position in the left field seats. After the scrum broke up, Dodgers fans booed him.
Fans throw more stuff onto the field
At that point, Darvish resumed warmups and Dodger Stadium security staff met with the umpires on the field. Fox cameras then showed what appeared to be water bottles scattered in right field near Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
Three security personnel then joined the profile in the left field seats, and the public address announcer once again warned fans not to throw anything on the field. Profar met with the umpires again near the infield edge, and Darvish again stopped warming up.
Eventually, after a nearly 10-minute delay, security staff was stationed on the outfield wall and play resumed with the first pitch of the inning. Fox’s Ken Rosenthal later reported that Shildt told the referee that he feared the players were in danger.
After the Padres players returned to the dugout after the half-inning, Manny Machado gathered his teammates for a meeting.
The delay didn’t seem to affect Darvish, who fought through a scoreless inning to close out the night. At the time of the incident, the Padres were leading 4-1, but then managed to shake off the game and win 10-2. On a night when they hit six home runs, they added three runs in the eighth inning and three more in the ninth.
Darvish pitched seven innings, allowing only one run on three hits and two walks, earning the victory.
Did the initial interaction cause the drama at the end?
Profar made a sensational play in the outfield in the first inning, reaching over the wall and into the stands to snatch a home run from Betts.
He celebrated while teasing Dodgers fans, fooling the Fox broadcast and Betts into thinking the explosion had gone over the wall, tying the game.
The game occurred in the bottom of the first inning with the Padres leading 1-0. Betts hit a deep fly ball from Darvish into the left field stands. The wall along the left-field foul pole was chest-high, allowing Profar to play balls that flew into the front row of the stands.
As Dodgers fans scrambled to catch the ball, Profar jumped over the wall. When he landed, he jumped up and down, looking down at the fans. Betts hit a series of home runs, and Fox began broadcasting that Betts had hit a home run.
he didn’t. Moments later, Profar revealed that he had actually caught the ball and was out.
Instead of a 1-1 game, the Padres held a 1-0 lead and made it through the first inning without allowing the Dodgers to score.
Profar was all smiles during an interview with Fox’s Ken Rosenthal in the dugout between innings.
“That was one of my wishes,” he said. “I wanted to get a home run, and it was awesome to be able to do it in a playoff game.”
What did he say to fans after the catch?
“I didn’t say anything,” Profar continued. “I had to fight them to catch their balls. They were hitting my glove.”
After the sixth inning, the Padres took control of the game, but tensions rose between players and fans. Machado and Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty exchanged words multiple times before the seventh inning delay.
After the incident in the bottom of the seventh inning, Tatis continued to yell and yell at the fans.
With Sunday’s win, the Padres tied the series at 1-1. Things will move south to San Diego for Game 3 on Tuesday, where Padres fans are sure to have their say.