Sunday night’s National League Division Series game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres took a turn for the worse when fans threw baseballs, trash, and other objects at Padres players.
During the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Padres leading the Dodgers by a score of 4-1, people in the crowd began to throw baseballs at San Diego left fielder Jurickson Profar as he took the field and began his warm-up tosses. On the other end of the field, fans started throwing trash and other objects at Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
Tatis had hit two home runs during the game and Profar made a highlight reel catch in the first inning to take a home run away from Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The umpires paused the game to clean up debris thrown onto the field, and the stadium’s announcer called for fans to stop throwing objects. The game was delayed for about 10 minutes. During the stoppage, Padres manager Mike Shildt gathered his team on the field until security regained control of the situation.
“He wanted to make sure his players were safe,” FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal said during the pause of the game’s broadcast. “People were throwing debris at his players, and he was concerned that they were in danger.”
After the game, Profar and Tatis commented on the tense situation. Both players appeared a little rattled.
“You can hurt someone,” Profar said in an interview after the game. “You don’t do that. It’s not the way.”
Tatis was a little more subdued. While he was critical of the fans who threw the objects, he said he understood their intensity, even if he felt they handled the situation incorrectly.
“I felt like that should not be happening in a big league game,” Tatis said.
“But at the same time, it’s a good environment for baseball. Although people get carried away a little bit with their emotions. But it’s a good back and forth,” the Padres outfielder said.
“At the end of the day, it’s a show, and we should enjoy every moment.”
The series resumes on Tuesday in San Diego. Shildt said he expected fans in the Padres stadium not to be as disruptive and unruly.
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“We’re about to go back to San Diego with a very, very loud, raucous, aggressive, hungry crowd that’s going to be super excited and going to be getting after it,” Shildt said in an interview after the game.
“But I know also that we’ll stay classy, San Diego,” said the Padres manager, referencing a popular movie quote from fictional character Ron Burgundy in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, which took place in the Southern California city.