Jurickson Profar right to be furious after bogus check swing call

The San Diego Padres didn’t put together the most impressive performance in Game 3 of the 2022 NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies. Not only could Juan Soto, Jurickson Profar, and the rest of the offense rarely get anything going that wasn’t aided by poor defense, but Joe Musgrove went into an early hole thanks to Kyle Schwarber.

Despite all that, the Padres had a chance to tie the game in the ninth inning against Seranthony Dominguez. With Josh Bell starting the final stanza with a single, Profar had the chance to do some real damage. Instead, the umpires took that chance away from the Padres.

Profar checked his swing and sauntered to first after what he thought to be a walk, but he was called out after umpire Todd Tichenor ruled that he went around. Profar was ejected from the game following n emotional outburst immediately after, and San Diego lost 4-2.

“We play a game and we play with emotion,” Profar said after the game. “We don’t play soft. We play to win. I play with emotion”

Not only was that a controversial third strike call that could have gone either way, but San Diego losing a golden comeback opportunity in the ninth inning of a Championship Series games thanks to the umpires has to sting.

Padres OF Jurickson Profar was livid after a bad strikeout call.

Profar has actually put together a solid postseason, as he has hit .250 and launched one home run against the Mets, Dodgers, and Phillies. The former top shortstop prospect has found a home in San Diego as a quality left fielder with some pop in his bat.

If Profar had got on base and moved Bell to second, that would have put playoff hero Trent Grisham in a position to potentially tie the game or take the lead against a pitcher in Dominguez who was in his second inning of work. Rob Thomson may have thought about removing him if that was the case.

Instead, this horrid sequence of officiating led to Profar striking out, Grisham popping out to the shortstop, and Austin Nola striking out to slam the door shut on San Diego. The Padres didn’t hit all night long, but they’ve come back to win in similar situations dozens of times in the last few years.

The Padres need to steal a win in Philly to get the series to shift back to San Diego, and they had an opportunity to do so in Game 3. While the reaction is what got Profar thrown out, any Padres fan would have flipped that switch after such a horrendous call in arguably the biggest game of Profar’s career.

3 times Dave Roberts shot Dodgers in the foot and gifted Padres NLDS

The San Diego Padres took down the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS and on top of their valiant effort, they have Dave Roberts to thank.