The San Diego Padres had the last laugh at Dodger Stadium on Sunday when they demolished the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-2 in the second game of their National League Division Series, tying the series 1-1. The game was marred by an incident involving Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar, who had a ball thrown back that he had handed to the crowd.
Moments after that interaction with a Dodgers fan wearing an Alex Vesia jersey, another ball was thrown in the direction of Profar, which caused a delay in the game during the 7th inning.
The delay lasted several minutes as Profar protested to the umpire about the balls being thrown at him. Footage also emerged of fans taunting Padres relief pitchers and staff in the away team bullpen. Three security personnel then joined Profar in left field, and the public address announcer reiterated the warning to fans about throwing objects onto the field. Profar once more conversed with the umpires near the edge of the infield.
Footage of San Diego Padres’ Jurickson Profar Incident
A video posted on X by Dodgers Geek showed that things started as fun and games when Profar gave a ball to the fan in the Alex Vesia jersey, who immediately threw it back onto the field. Profar did respond to the fan while walking back into position when another ball was thrown from the stands and landed near the 31-year-old.
Profar saw the ball land and called over a teammate to show him what was going on. Security close to the incident then reacted and seemed to draw attention to the rowdy spectators. The fan in the Vesia jersey tried to justify his antics by claiming that he threw the ball into the open field and not at Profar.
Profar then expressed his anger at the fans for throwing balls and other objects at him and started to speak to the umpires about the incident. Fox cameras also captured water bottles being thrown near Padres outfielder Fernando Tatís Jr.
Everything started way back in the first inning when Profar made an incredible play in the outfield, leaping over the wall and into the stands to snatch a home run away from Mookie Betts. Profar teased Dodgers fans, tricking both the Fox broadcast team and Betts into believing the hit had cleared the wall and tied the game, but the ball was caught. This infuriated the fans in the outfield stands.
Game 3 is set to take place in San Diego, and the series is tied 1-1, as tension between the two teams is reaching a fever pitch.