Jurickson Profar got disrespected by the Nationals and boy did he make them pay

Teams sometimes feel forced to make tough choices in tight spots during games, and one of those choices is to intentionally walk a batter. Free baserunners are not great obviously, but there are situations where avoiding a certain hitter or putting force outs in play make the move sensible.

However, you also risk angering the guy you decide to pitch to, and that is exactly what happened to the San Diego Padres' Jurickson Profar on Monday night.

After the Nationals scored three runs in the top of the 10th, the Padres had some work to do if they were going to make a comeback. A two-run single from the increasingly valuable Jackson Merrill got San Diego within a run, and after a walk and a sac bunt the Padres found themselves with runners on second and third with one out. Immediately after David Peralta popped out, the Nationals signaled that they were going to intentionally walk Luis Arraez to load the bases.

Well, the next batter was Profar, who did not take kindly to that disrespect, and he made Washington pay. Profar's walk-off two-run ground rule double sealed the deal for the Pads.

Padres News: Jurickson Profar responds to Nationals' disrespect with walk-off hit

Again, situationally the Nationals' move made sense. Once the second out of the inning was made, they wanted to both take the bat out of a great contact hitter's hands and make sure there was a force play available at every base. The extra runner at first didn't matter because if the guys on second and third scored, the game was over regardless.

However, Profar didn't take kindly to Washington being OK with pitching to him in that spot. When asked after the game, the current NL All-Star outfield voting leader didn't mince words when he said, "I felt disrespected." We have seen what happens when Profar gets underestimated as the division rival Dodgers had to find out the hard way. Even if it was the right call in the moment, irritating arguably the best hitter in the Padres' lineup proved to be costly.

Few would have thought when the Padres brought Profar back that he would be such a valuable part of their lineup. However, he absolutely has been, and the Nationals just found out the hard way.

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