San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar was on the verge of a 9-8 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates early Wednesday night after a ball struck his right leg.
In the sixth inning at PNC Park, Profar was hit below the knee of his right leg by a pitch from Pirates reliever Hunter Stratton. Profar immediately fell and rolled over before leaping away and hitting his helmet on the ground in apparent pain.
Jurickson Profar was in severe pain after taking this ball off his knee
He initially stayed in the game but has now been knocked out photo.twitter.com/Af5eY1ahzp
— Talking Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 8, 2024
Profar managed to stay in the game and briefly reached second base on a single by Xander Bogaerts, but was then removed from the game for good.
Details of his injury are not yet known, although initial scans of his leg after the game came back negative. Padres manager Mike Shildt called it a “day-to-day situation.” It’s unclear how long he’ll be sidelined.
Profar entered the night batting .302 with 19 home runs, 71 RBi and a .395 on-base percentage, the best in the National League. The 31-year-old was also named an All-Star starter for the first time in his career earlier this summer.
The Pirates, who scored two quick runs in the first inning, nearly pulled out a one-run win Wednesday night after Andrew McCutchen hit both a solo homer and a two-RBI single to put them ahead. But it was Jackson Merrill who hit a solo homer in the ninth inning to tie the game, eventually forcing an extra inning.
San Diego then jumped ahead in the 10th after Bogaerts hit an RBI single to lead off the inning, and then Manny Machado — who had found himself on the wrong end of the fastest strikeout pitch in MLB history earlier in the night — and Merrill each drove in a runner to put the Padres back on top. Though the Pirates held on briefly in the final inning after the Padres drove in a run and Michael Taylor scored on a wild pitch, the Padres held on for the one-run victory.
The Pirates fell to 56-57 on the year with the loss, which was their third straight loss and their fifth in their last six. They currently sit third in the NL Central standings, though they are within five games of the final wild-card spot in the National League.
The Padres wrap up their three-game series with the Pirates on Thursday afternoon. They currently sit third in the NL West standings at 63-52 and hold the second wild-card spot.
