LUKAS BLANKENSTEIN / CONTRIBUTOR

As soon as  the Padres booked a ticket to face their fiercest rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball fans knew they were in for a heated affair. However, fans didn’t know how wild this series would get. Baseballs thrown at players, baseballs thrown at dugouts, robbed home runs and more were the highlights of this series. 

While game one was fairly calm, the drama ramped up during game two. In the bottom of the first inning, with the Padres up 1-0, Mookie Betts hit a deep fly ball to left field that was on track to barely  clear the wall for a home run. Jurickson Profar, the Padres left fielder, leaped up to try and make a catch, then pretended he didn’t catch the ball. The commentators, the fans and even Betts thought he had just tied the game at 1-1, only for Profar to pull the rug out from under the stadium, revealing he had the ball the   whole time. Profar then began trash talking the fans, amusing the commentator and angering the Dodgers faithfuls. 

Fireworks continued to fly after the sixth inning. With the score at 3-1 in favor of the Padres, Dodger’s starter Jack Flahrety hit Padres star, Fernando Tatis Jr. with his pitch. After the game, Flahrety defended the stray pitch.

“I wasn’t trying to lead off the inning by hitting him,” Flahrety said. “That doesn’t make any sense. I didn’t go up near his head. I was just trying to push a guy off the plate, and he didn’t get out of the way. Sometimes that happens, and they were upset about it.” 

According to an interview with MLB reporter AJ Cassavell, the Padres third baseman Manny Machado, who  was two batters  behind  Tatis, saw  the incident  differently. 

“He tried to hit our best player,” Machado said.  “Get him out. If you can’t get him out, don’t hit him. Right? They got the best player in the game, right? Ohtani? We don’t go out there and try to hit Ohtani. We try to get him out. Don’t go out there and try to hit my guy.” 

According to numerous Dodgers players, Machado began chirping Flaherty from the on deck circle. Things then escalated after Flahrety struck out Machado during the top of the sixth inning.  According to the Los Angeles Times, Flaherty shouted an expletive  at Machado, telling him to sit down as he headed back to the dugout.

This led to increased chirping after the inning when Machado took his typical third base spot. After the tradition of fielding warmups had ended, Machado threw a bouncing ball at the Dodgers dugout. Reports vary on whether the Dodgers were insulting  him before he decided to throw the ball at the dugout, but after the fact, numerous Dodgers players were seen shouting at Machado, aggrieved by his perceived attack. According  to the Los Angeles Times, the manager of the Dodgers, Dave Roberts, called the incident “unsettling”

“I don’t know his intent,” Roberts states, “I don’t want to speak for him. But I did see the video. And the ball was directed at me with  something  behind it.” 

This was the opinion of many fans across the league, including USD first-year student and Dodgers fan Cameron Lopez.

“It’s dirty and disrespectful,” Lopez stated.  “He should be fined for that.  No question, it was  totally intentional. [Dodgers players] would not do that, we know how to respect the game.”

Machado had a different account of his actions.

“I throw balls all the time into the dugouts, both dugouts,” Machado said. “They have bat boys, you throw the ball back in there.” 

This opinion was shared by a large number of fans, including first-year Padres fan Eddie Garcia.

“From what I could see, it was unintentional,” Garcia said. “It rolled into the dugout. It bounced like 3 times before it got to Dave Roberts, and Roberts going on the media saying he and Machado had a history — it feels childish,” Garcia said.

The temperature would eventually boil over in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Dodgers began pelting the field with baseballs, water bottles and beer cans. The main target of the objects was Jurickson Profar. After he noticed the first baseball was thrown in his direction, he immediately got the umpire and a break was called, leading to more items being thrown on the field. Both Profar and the Padres were visibly shaken up, with Profar furiously yelling at the umpire. Tatis, who was also in the outfield, was seen fake crying to make fun of the Dodgers. Padres fan Eddie Garcia didn’t mince words about his thoughts on the situation.

Profar Jurickson and Luis Arraez during postseason practice. Photo courtesy of @padres/Instagram

“Honestly I just think it was childish, and it gives a bad rep to the LA area,” Garica stated. “It also makes them look like sore losers because they look like they can’t take a loss.”

However, Lopez,  believed the Padres, specifically Profar, got what was coming to them.

“Profar deserved it ‘cause he’s a cocky player,” Lopez said.

The Padres got the last laugh of the game, however, as they used this momentum to score three runs in both the eighth  and ninth  innings, convincingly beating the Padres 10-2. 

The series then returned to San Diego, where both teams played  one  game each, this time with much less controversy. This set up a “winner takes all” mindset during game five in Los Angeles to see who moves on to the National League Championship Series.

Dodgers celebrate after defeating Padres in the playoffs. Photo courtesy of @dodgers/Instagram

While the Padres won game two’s controversial battle, it was the Dodgers who won the war, shutting down the Padres  offense in a 2-0 win at home in the fifth game. The Padres vaunted offense, who scored 21 runs in the first 20 innings of the series, failed to register a single run for the last 24 innings.  A combination of strong  pitching and timely homers were the key to success for the Dodgers in their victory after this controversial and heated series. 

The Dodgers are playing  the Mets next in the series while they look to  win the World Series. The series is currently tied at 1-1,  and will go into a third game on Oct. 16.  Meanwhile, the Padres  will retire for the season, after finishing second  overall for the National League West in the playoffs.  

The Padres end their season with a 0-2 loss to the Dodgers. Photo courtesy of @officialmikeking/Instagram