Jurickson Profar

Manny Machado would like the Los Angeles Dodgers to know that Jurickson Profar is quite relevant.One day after Profar drew the Dodgers' ire by taking exception to an inside pitch, the San Diego Padres outfielder delivered a bases-clearing double that held up as the winning hit in Sunday's 6-3 victory at Dodger Stadium. It prompted Machado to stand up for his teammate, whom he says has been one of the team's most important pieces early in the season."He's been leading this team big-time," Machado said about Profar postgame, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Numbers speak for themselves. Every time he comes out here and steps on the field, he makes a big impact. ... The boy got 10 years in the league. There's only a handful of baseball players in all of baseball that have accomplished that goal, so got to put a little respect on his name."Dodgers catcher Will Smith called Profar "irrelevant" after Saturday's benches-clearing skirmish. Profar was irked about Gavin Stone's inside pitch, but Smith was curious why anyone would think Stone threw at him while he still had a perfect game going.Profar let his bat do the talking Sunday, as he's done throughout this year. He's off to one of the best starts of his 11-year career, hitting .321/.424/.536 with two homers, 13 RBIs, and nine walks for the surprising Padres.The 31-year-old took the high road when asked about Smith's comments, pointing instead to the fact his team won a road series from their star-studded Southern California rivals."We have a great team and they have a really, really good team over there," Profar said. "For us to come in here and take two out of three, it's a message, you know."Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A day after being called "irrelevant" by Dodgers catcher Will Smith, Jurickson Profar came through with a three-run double in the seventh inning that gave San Diego the series win. Said teammate Manny Machado: "Put a little bit of respect on his name."

Profar capped an eventful weekend with a big hit on Sunday night

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith questioned why Jurickson Profar was upset after right-hander Gavin Stone missed up and in to the San Diego Padres outfielder while throwing a perfect game in the fifth inning Saturday.Smith and Profar got into a verbal spat that caused a benches-clearing incident:"I don't know why we would have thrown at him. He's kind of irrelevant," Smith said postgame following the 5-2 victory, according to David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports.Smith added that he didn't like how Profar looked at his teammate Stone, who ended up carrying the perfecto into the sixth inning."He took offense to a cutter inside. He was staring at Stoney, and I felt like I needed to say something. I thought the whole thing was kind of silly, stupid, whatever you want to call it," Smith said, according to Jill Painter Lopez of The Associated Press. "I don't know why he thought we were trying to hit him there. It was kind of weird."Profar said he initially thought Stone may have tried to hit him for squaring to bunt during the previous pitch."He was throwing a perfect game, so he wouldn't do that," the 31-year-old said.The division rivals finish off their three-game series Sunday.Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Benches cleared in the fifth inning Saturday night but nothing happened beyond that