Padres-Dodgers NLDS Game 2 delayed after fans throw objects on field
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Unruly fans cause delay in Dodgers-Padres game (1:14)
Game 2 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and Padres hits a delay after fans in the outfield throw items at Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar. (1:14)
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff WriterOct 6, 2024, 10:29 PM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
LOS ANGELES — The start of Sunday’s bottom of the seventh inning was delayed as close to two dozen security guards lined the foul lines of Dodger Stadium after fans threw objects onto the field in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, further escalating tensions between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the division-rival San Diego Padres.
Two baseballs were thrown in the direction of Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, who in the first inning had some fun with the fans by reaching into the stands to rob Mookie Betts of a home run and spending some time showing them up before revealing he had secured the baseball.
Profar got into a heated discussion with umpires after the two baseballs came close to hitting him in the seventh, prompting all of the Padres’ players, along with manager Mike Shildt, to come onto the field and gather around him. Moments later, as defensive players positioned themselves back into their spots, three objects were thrown into the right-field warning track in the direction of Fernando Tatis Jr.
The tension began on the field, when Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty plunked Tatis in the left side with an 0-1 sinker to begin the sixth inning. Flaherty briefly apologized, but Profar and Dodgers catcher Will Smith — who made headlines earlier in the season by calling Profar “irrelevant” — then exchanged words at home plate.
Moments later, Flaherty struck out Manny Machado, yelled toward him and motioned him back to the dugout. Machado was made aware of Flaherty’s comments as he approached the dugout railing and stared Flaherty down as he was removed from the game immediately thereafter. Machado and Flaherty continued to jaw at each other when Machado came back out for defense in the top of the seventh.
The fans then got involved, prompting a nine-minute delay.
San Diego won 10-2 to tie the best-of-five series 1-1.
