Manny Machado Defends Jurickson Profar After Being Called ‘Irrelevant’

As Gavin Stone was working on a perfect game in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ matchup against the San Diego Padres on Saturday, Jurickson Profar squared around to bunt while leading off the fifth inning.

Bunting during a perfect game or no-hitter is one of baseball’s unwritten rules, but it was a one-run score and early enough to justify the attempt.

The next pitch to Profar was up and in, which he took exception to. That led to Profar and Will Smith exchanging some words at home plate before the benches cleared.

Smith had some choice words for Profar after the game, questioning his frustration over Stone’s pitch while also calling him “kind of irrelevant.”

Manny Machado defended his teammate and believes Profar is important to the Padres’ success, via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com:

“Irrelevant? I don’t know. You’ll have to check the dictionary on that,” Padres third baseman Manny Machado said after San Diego’s 6-3 win. “He’s been leading this team big-time. The numbers speak for themselves. Every time he comes out here, steps on that field, he makes a big impact on the game. At the end of the day, boy got 10 years in the league. There’s only a handful of baseball players, in all of baseball, who accomplish that goal, so, got to put a little bit of respect on his name.”

Profar was mic’d up for the series finale on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast and admitted that he overreacted to Stone pitching him inside.

The former top prospect is off to the best start of his career as he is batting .321/.424/.536 with six doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI in 56 plate appearances (18 games).

Profar gave the Padres a decided 6-3 lead with his three-run double that helped the Padres clinch a series win over the Dodgers on Sunday.

Jurickson Profar’s history with Dodgers

Prior to his latest incident with the Dodgers, Profar notably got under the skin of Clayton Kershaw during a game between the teams in 2021. The left-hander’s frustration arose when it appeared he struck out Profar on a check-swing.

However, Profar protested to home-plate umpire Tom Haillon that there was catcher’s interference by Austin Barnes. It went to review and the strikeout was overturned. Kershaw and Profar exchanged profanities before being separated by teammates.