San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar felt disrespected when Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez ordered an intentional walk to Luis Arraez in the bottom of the 10th inning Monday night, bringing Profar to the plate.
Profar stroked a bases-loaded, two-run single to give San Diego a 7-6 win. His subsequent celebration left Washington feeling disrespected, leading to retaliation and then his revenge that keyed the Padres’ 9-7 victory over the Nationals on Tuesday.
The Padres and Profar will attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Nationals on Wednesday afternoon.
The past two nights typified Profar’s season — accomplishment amid conflict.
A game after Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith dubbed him “irrelevant” following a dust-up between the two in April, Profar bombed a three-run double to give the Padres a series win in Dodger Stadium.
In the first inning on Tuesday, Profar was confronted by Washington catcher Keibert Ruiz and then was drilled with a 98 mph MacKenzie Gore fastball, both apparently in relation to the Profar’s reaction to the winning hit a night earlier. Profar struck back with a sixth-inning grand slam that gave the Padres a 9-4 lead.
It was the latest big hit in a season that has seen Profar surge atop the All-Star voting for National League outfielders. He is batting .317, second in the majors, with 11 homers and a team-high 54 RBI for the Padres, who have won six of their past seven games.
“I know who Pro is in a good way,” San Diego manager Mike Shildt said. “He’s a warrior. He’s got the heart of a lion.”
While Profar’s big swings have made the difference in the past two games, the Padres hope to get better work from their pitchers. On Wednesday, they will look for a better performance from Dylan Cease (6-6, 4.14 ERA), who got a no-decision in San Diego’s 9-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.
Cease lasted only 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts. The right-hander will face the Nationals for the first time in his career.
Washington will give the ball to rookie left-hander DJ Herz (1-1, 4.50 ERA), who is coming off a no-decision in the Nationals’ 11-5 win at Colorado on Friday. Herz permitted seven hits and four runs (three earned) in 3 2/3 innings, walking none and striking out five. He will face San Diego for the first time.
The Nationals came into this series as one of the hottest teams in the majors, with 11 wins in 15 games and four series victories in their past five sets. While they have come up short so far against the Padres, they still feel good about their recent standard of play.
“We’ve been in a lot of really close, good games,” Washington left fielder Jesse Winker said, “and that’s what you want to do. You just want to play a good brand of baseball day in and day out. The only real job is to stay focused on the task at hand.”
Winker, one of the few veterans on the roster, offered some help Tuesday night with his ninth homer of the year. However, for the second straight game, the Nationals weren’t able to hold a multiple-run lead. The Washington bullpen has given up eight runs (seven earned) in 5 2/3 innings during the series.
–Field Level Media
