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 Betts’ blast had gone over the wall.
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 ball off Padres starter Yu Darvish toward the stands in left field. The wall along the foul pole in left field was chest high and allowed Profar to make a play on the ball as it traveled to the front 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 at the fans and jumped 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 didn’t have that. Just moments later, Profar announced that he had actually caught the ball for an out.
Instead of a 1-1 game, the Padres kept 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 home run, and I did that in a playoff game. It was awesome.”
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 the ball. They hit my glove.”
It was a great move by Profar in a high-stakes play-off match. The 31-year-old All-Star made the most of the moment.
