Jurickson Profar fooled everyone by robbing a home run in secret. Then the fans made it ugly.
The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are NL West rivals with massive payrolls and some of the biggest stars in MLB. The two teams are facing off in the 2024 NLDS for a best-of-five series to determine which team will be on the doorstep of the World Series. The stakes of this series feel enormous for both sides, and it’s already producing some incredible baseball.
After the Dodgers’ Game 1 win, the series resumed for Game 2 in LA on Sunday night. In the bottom of the first inning with the Padres already holding a 1-0 lead, Dodgers star Mookie Betts clobbered a pitch to left field for what appeared to be the game-tying home run.
Padres outfield Jurickson Profar tracked the ball to the wall, leapt into the stands, and tried to catch it. When Profar landed, he stared down the crowd and made no indication he caught it. As Betts was approaching third base, Profar finally showed that had made an amazing catch, wiping a Dodgers run off the board.
Profar’s non-reaction is just masterful trolling. Dodgers fans wouldn’t forget about it, and it led to another controversial moment later in the game. First, watch Profar’s catch:
This is just too good. An awesome catch and an even better reaction.
In the bottom of the seventh, with the Padres holding a three-run lead, Los Angeles fans started heckling Profar. As he was jawing back and forth with the bleachers, one fan even threw a baseball at him.
The game was paused as the umpires dealt with the scene.
It’s absolutely unacceptable to ever throw something onto the field at an athlete. Fans need to learn how to behave. Multiple fans were reportedly throwing things at Profar.
Now a bunch of fans have thrown objects in Fernando Tatis Jr.’s direction in right field. There are close to 20 security guards standing along the foul lines and play is still delayed. I’ve never seen anything like this.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) October 7, 2024
Profar was verbally getting into it with the Dodgers all game long. The Padres have a big lead, and are about to send this series back to San Diego tied 1-1.