Profar loses his cool, Padres lose to Phils in NLCS Game 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jurickson Profar misplaced his cool simply earlier than the San Diego Padres misplaced the sport.
With a runner on first and no outs within the ninth inning and the Padres trailing by two runs in Sport 3 of the NL Championship Collection, Profar thought he checked his swing on a 3-2 pitch from Phillies reliever Seranthony Domínguez.
However as Profar tossed his bat towards the San Diego dugout and headed towards first, he was dominated to have swung by third-base umpire Todd Tichenor.
Profar slammed his helmet, yelled an expletive at Tichenor after which kicked his helmet earlier than being ejected by plate umpire Ted Barrett.
As a substitute of a stroll that might have put runners on first and second with no outs, it was an vital first out for Domínguez, who retired the following two batters to finish a 4-2 win that gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead within the best-of-seven matchup.
“It ought to’ve been a stroll,” Profar mentioned.
Profar mentioned he was making an attempt to get out of the best way of Domínguez’s back-foot slider and held his swing.
“I didn’t have a extremely good likelihood to see (the replay), however I’m fairly certain I didn’t go,” he mentioned. “Possibly the bat was in entrance, however I used to be simply getting out of the best way and I didn’t go. I didn’t swing.”
Padres supervisor Bob Melvin didn’t dispute the umpire’s resolution – however didn’t essentially agree, both.
“Blocked out just a little bit,” Melvin mentioned of his view. “Initially, it seemed prefer it may need gone. Return and have a look at it, possibly the bat didn’t get on the market. It’s a detailed name, powerful one. However possibly not.”
“It’s a giant second, clearly,” he mentioned.
As for his response, Profar doesn’t remorse it -– although he did admit he would react otherwise in the same state of affairs going ahead.
“We play a recreation and we play with emotion,” he mentioned. “We don’t play gentle. We play to win. I play with emotion.”
Would he do it once more?
“No in all probability not,” he mentioned. “However in that second, I did it. However I study from it.”
Requested whether or not a suspension from Main League Baseball is perhaps forthcoming, he mentioned, “No likelihood. MLB doesn’t droop individuals for that.”
Final yr, a hotly disputed test swing ended the deciding Sport 5 of the extremely anticipated NL Division Collection showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
With two outs and a runner on first within the backside of the ninth, the Giants’ Wilmer Flores was dominated to have swung at a pitch from Max Scherzer. Some indignant followers at Oracle Park threw trash onto the outfield grass.
After the sport, first-base umpire Gabe Morales, who made the decision on an attraction from the plate ump, appeared to waver on whether or not he obtained it proper.
Verify swings have lengthy been a much-debated a part of baseball.
For a pitch to be a strike, does the hitter need to “break his wrists” making an attempt to carry up? Is it when the bat goes in entrance of the plate? Is it based mostly on the batter’s intent?
No must test it out within the Official Baseball Guidelines: Within the nearly 200 pages that govern Main League Baseball, there’s no point out of how one can name it.
It’s purely an umpire’s judgment — and judgment calls are usually not reviewable underneath MLB’s replay guidelines.
SOTO STRUGGLES
Padres star slugger Juan Soto went 1 for 3, elevating his postseason common this yr to .231, however has gone 13 consecutive video games courting to the common season with no house run.
Soto has struggled in proper subject on this collection, too. He made a throwing error and misplaced a ball within the solar in San Diego’s 8-5 victory in Sport 2 on Wednesday.
On Friday, he couldn’t maintain Bryson Stott’s second-inning hit from getting previous him and it reached the wall for a double. The Padres obtained out of that body with out giving up a run, however they weren’t as fortunate within the sixth when Soto couldn’t snare Alec Bohm’s sinking liner with a diving try that resulted in an RBI double that gave Philadelphia a two-run cushion.
The 23-year-old Soto, whom San Diego acquired from Washington in a blockbuster deal on Aug. 2, clubbed 5 homers and had 14 RBIs in 17 postseason video games in 2019 to assist the Nationals win the World Collection.
Soto has two doubles and 4 RBIs this postseason, and final went deep on Oct. 1 towards the White Sox.
Soto has seen his energy dip for the reason that Padres traded away six prized prospects to get him. In 52 regular-season video games for the reason that commerce, Soto hit six homers with 16 RBIs whereas batting .236 and slugging .390.
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