Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar made one of the plays of the postseason on Sunday, robbing Mookie Betts of a home run.
He celebrated by taunting Dodgers fans and fooling the Fox broadcast and Betts into thinking that Betts’ blast had traveled over the wall and tied the game.
The play took place in the bottom of the first inning of Game 2 of the NLDS with the Padres holding a 1-0 lead. Betts hit a deep fly ball off of Padres starter Yu Darvish toward the left-field stands. The wall along the left-field foul pole is chest high and allowed Profar to make a play on the ball that traveled into the first row of the stands.
Profar jumped and leaned over the wall as Dodgers fans fought him to catch the ball. When he landed, he stared down the fans and hopped up and down. Betts broke into a home-run trot, and the Fox broadcast put a run on the board and declared that Betts had hit a home run.
He had not. Only moments later did Profar reveal he had actually caught the ball for an out.
Instead of a 1-1 game, the Padres maintained a 1-0 lead and got out of the first inning without allowing the Dodgers to score.
Profar was all smiles in a dugout interview with Fox’s Ken Rosenthal between innings.
“That was one of my wishes,” Profar said. “I want to rob a homer, and I did it in a playoff game. It was awesome.”
So, what did he say to the fans after making the catch?
“I didn’t say anything,” Profar continued. “I had to fight with them to catch they ball. They were hitting my glove.”
It was a great play by Profar in a high-stakes playoff matchup. The 31-year-old All-Star made the most of the moment. But the saga apparently wasn’t over.
Things got ugly at Dodger Stadium in 7th inning
According to Yahoo Sports’ Russell Dorsey, fans threw two baseball at Profar from the stands as the Padres prepared for the bottom of the seventh inning while ahead 4-1.
Things are getting reckless here at Dodger Stadium. Fans threw two balls toward Jurickson Profar, beer was then tossed on the field. Two runners last night, as well.
— Russell Dorsey (@Russ_Dorsey1) October 7, 2024
Profar and the Padres weren’t pleased with what happened and had a spirited conversation with the umpiring crew before order was restored after about a 10-15 minute delay.
Fox cameras caught the Padres having a team meeting in the dugout during the delay, with Manny Machado seemingly leading the discussion.
Both teams have been going back and forth with each other verbally in what’s shaping up to be a heated NLDS.
