Jurickson Profar Says Padres 'Didn't Come Through', Doesn't Credit Dodgers Pitching

Valentina Martinez | Oct 12, 2024

Oct 11, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar (10) looks on before game five against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The smiles were long gone from a defeated Padres team. A San Diego team that had a 2-1 lead in the National League Division Series, saw the final games slip away from them. Jurickson Profar put the blame on themselves and was reluctant to give praise to the Dodgers pitching staff.

“It’s very hard,” Profar told Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. “We did a lot of unusual things. I don’t want to give credit to their pitching. We just didn’t come through.”

They dazzled. They danced. They decimated. But in the end, the Padres came up short. After giving the Dodgers a 10-2 beatdown in Game 2 and winning a nail-biter in Game 3, things were looking up for San Diego.

Nevertheless, the Dodgers pitching staff held off San Diego to 24 consecutive scoreless innings, making it the longest postseason drought in 33 years. It was the longest scoreless run since the Atlanta Braves went 26 innings without scoring in the 1991 NLCS.

Yu Darvish performed almost as well as he did in Game 2, but his two mistakes were solo home runs from Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández. The two bombs were enough for the Dodgers to advance to the NLCS.

In the biggest game of the year, stars like Profar, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arraez didn't look up for the task.

Two runs were all the Padres needed to tie the Dodgers, but nothing ever happened. The scoreless 24 innings was a season-high for San Diego.

Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a sharp start for Los Angeles, which was a stark difference from the three previous meetings with the Padres.

“I’m sad for this team,” Jurickson Profar said. “We had everything to go all the way. But, you know, baseball. They played better than we did the past two games. We’re going home.”

The mighty Padres were projected to win the NLDS, but when it mattered most, the star-studded lineup was quiet. The hottest hitter in the Padres lineup hit a ground ball for the final out of the game.

It was devastating, but Profar was candid about the Padres' poor performance.

“We didn’t come through in situations,” Profar said. “We didn’t hit.”

As the Padres return home to San Diego, the team will have much reflecting to do on what went wrong and what could've been. The Game 5 loss to the Dodgers will be a defeat that'll stick with them.

It certainly won't be forgotten. Padres fans should fully expect the team to bounce back in 2025.