Video: Clayton Kershaw, Jurickson Profar Have Heated Exchange in Dodgers-Padres

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and San Diego Padres first baseman Jurickson Profar got into a heated shouting match in the bottom of the fourth inning Saturday.

The incident occurred after Profar swung and missed at a Kershaw fastball that initially ended the fourth inning (h/t Jomboy Media). However, the Padres requested a replay for catchers’ interference and won upon further review.

Kershaw appeared to accuse Profar of swatting at catcher Austin Barnes’ glove to draw the interference on purpose. Profar took exception to the comments as the two angrily jawed at each other from afar. Eventually, emotions cooled, and no one got ejected.

This marks the second time extracurricular activities have taken place in the Dodgers-Padres series.

One night earlier, benches and bullpens cleared after Dodgers relief pitcher Dennis Santana hit pinch hitter Jorge Mateo with a pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Mateo and Santana shared some words before both teams exchanged pleasantries on the field. Nothing came of it, and no one was even ejected. L.A. won 11-6 in 12 innings.

The bad blood continued over into Saturday, however, following the Kershaw vs. Profar conversation. Nothing came of that either, though, as Kershaw got second baseman Jake Cronenworth to fly out to end the frame five pitches later. No one was ejected then either.

The Dodgers vs. Padres series already had a ton of juice even before the two teams took the field in San Diego’s Petco Park. L.A. is the defending World Series champion, but the upstart Padres, who lost to the Dodgers in the 2020 National League Division Series, reloaded in the offseason in hopes of taking down their NL West rival. They notably bolstered their rotation with Blake Snell and Yu Darvish.

Thus far, the 12-2 Dodgers have an upper hand on San Diego and the rest of MLB. Only one other team (the Boston Red Sox at 10-4) has 10 or more wins. The Padres are doing well themselves, though, as they sit at 9-6.

The three-game series will conclude Sunday at 4:10 p.m. ET.