The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres have always had a rivalry between them. The two NL West powerhouses always get into it when they play, no matter if it's the playoffs or the regular season. During their Saturday night contest, an inside pitch nearly led to a scuffle between the two teams.
During the fourth inning of the Dodgers-Padres game, Jurickson Profar attempted a bunt against the white-hot Gavin Stone. After that attempt failed, Stone threw a fastball that was a little too inside for Profar's liking. The outfielder took offense to the pitch, and the benches started to come out in anticipation of a brawl. Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened, and the game resumed (albeit with a little more heat between teams).
The benches clear in LA after Jurickson Profar took exception to this inside pitch pic.twitter.com/fKbFiLyD3o
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 14, 2024
Profar and Padres fans were likely fuming at the idea of the Dodgers throwing at one of their own players. However, according to Will Smith, that couldn't be further from the truth. After the game, the star catcher talked about the incident and sniped at Profar with a not-so-subtle insult. (per Devin Vassegh)
“Will Smith told us this on the postgame show about the Profar drama in the 4th inning: “I don't know why we would have thrown at him…he's kind of irrelevant.”
Smith would further elaborate on this incident. The Dodgers catcher reiterated that it didn't make sense for the team to throw at Profar. (quote from Juan Toribio)
“#Dodgers catcher Will Smith on the stuff with Profar: “I thought the whole thing was silly, stupid, whatever you want to call it. I don’t really know why he thought we were trying to hit him there. It was kind of weird.””
Oof. Talk about catching some vicious strays.
Dodgers' pitching conundrum
Smith does make a good point, though. At that point in the game, Stone was having the best start of his entire career with the Dodgers. He has not allowed a single runner on base at that point, and would go on to pitch 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits. Jeopardizing the perfect game to prove a point seems unneccesary.
After Bobby Miller's sudden IL designation, Los Angeles badly needed another rotation arm to step up. Los Angeles still has a bunch of rotation arms that are on the mend. Miller's performance in the last few games was indicative of an injury, and the Dodgers are nipping the problem at the bud by shelving him for the meantime. Having players like Stone stepping up in this manner does wonders for this team.
With the win, the Dodgers maintain control of the NL West with an 11-6 record. Mookie Betts was excellent once again, getting three hits and two RBIs for the game. Shohei Ohtani contributed a single run off of a sacrifice fly, while Gavin Lux and Max Muncy were responsible for the other two runs.
As for the Padres, their dismal start continues as they fall below .500 yet again. Will we see these two meet each other in the playoffs once again? Or will San Diego continue their struggles while the Dodgers enjoy the rewards of their star-studded lineup.
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