LOS ANGELES – Before 21-year-old Jackson Merrill took the league by storm and 31-year-old Jurickson Profar orchestrated the best season of his 11-year career, there was a position group full of uncertainty.

When the Padres reported to Arizona this spring, no one knew who was in the outfield with Fernando Tatís Jr. would add. After trading Juan Soto and Trent Grisham in December, José Azocar was the only other outfielder on the 40-man roster who would not make it through the 2024 season with the franchise.

As it turns out, all it took to put together one of Major League Baseball’s most productive position groups was a $1 million free-agent flier and a top outfielder.

Profar produced a career year, finishing seventh in the majors in on-base percentage. Merrill captivated his move from shortstop to center field, leading all major league rookies in FanGraphs wins above replacement. And Tatís starred, leading an unknown outfield group that had suddenly transformed from troubled to unstoppable.

On Sunday, that trio’s mix of clutch hits and nifty web gems even helped the Padres win the National League Division Series in a 10-2 thrashing of the Dodgers that turned ugly both on the scoreboard and in the stands.

“Wild,” Tatís said. “Oh man, it sure is wild out here. But at the same time, it’s a good environment for baseball, even if people get a little carried away by their emotions.”

The answers to the Padres’ questions came just before opening day.

In February they brought back Profar, the former top prospect who had been a slightly below-league average hitter during his first ten seasons. The answer in the middle came internally in March, when Merrill, then a 20-year-old shortstop who had never played above Double-A or in center field at any point in his professional career, won the league.

In a stunning development, all three became All-Stars. And in Game 2 of the NLDS, all three played a leading role.

Profar, Tatís and Merrill combined for eight hits, three home runs and a string of spectacular catches that drew the ire, anger and attention of 54,119 fans on a turbulent night at Dodger Stadium that ended with fans throwing objects into the outfield and a visited the bullpen.

“What I got out of it was a bunch of guys showing up in front of a big, hostile crowd with stuff being thrown at them and saying, ‘We’re going to talk our play, we’re not going back down,'” Padres said manager Mike Shildt: “We’re going to take our game to the next level, we’re going to be together and we’re going to take care of business.”

At one point in the seventh inning, baseballs, beer cans and debris were thrown from the pavilions toward San Diego’s outfielders, leading to a nine-minute delay. None of that stopped the Padres from responding in a heated series.

In fact, the actions in the stands seemed to fuel a lineup that launched four of the six home runs the night after the disgraceful display.

“We saw how our boy Profar had balls thrown at him, he has the right to be angry,” Tatís said. “But at the end of the day, we understand that we are on a mission.”

Profar set the tone early before things deteriorated late.

For the second night in a row, the Padres jumped on a staggering Dodgers rotation to take an early lead. And for the second night in a row, the Dodgers answered back.

Or so it seemed.

The home run tunes blared from the speakers in the bottom of the first inning as Mookie Betts came around second and pointed to the Dodgers’ bullpen during his usual trot around the bases. It wasn’t until Betts passed second base that he realized Profar — who had spent the last few seconds jumping up and down and staring at a group of fans in the first few rows who had tried to secure the deep drive to left field but couldn’t get there had succeeded. – had robbed the homer with the catch of his life.

“I thought that was funny,” Merrill said. “But if I were Mookie, I’d be pretty angry.”

Did Merrill know Profar had caught him?

“Absolutely not,” Merrill said. “I thought, ‘Dang, 1-1, what are we doing?’ He jumped around and it looked like he was saying, ‘No, no.’ When he threw it in, I was like, ‘Oh my God, what are we doing?’ First inning, is this how we go?

In right field, Tatís wasn’t sure either.

“I was probably like everyone else, had that question mark until he started jumping back,” Tatís said. “Then he showed the ball. My emotions went through the roof.”

That also applied to the Dodgers fans, who could no longer contain them by the end of the evening.

There were unfortunate interactions between the Padres outfielders and the fans in the pavilions throughout the game, especially after the eye-popping defensive displays from the corner outfielders.

In the fourth inning, Tatís robbed Freddie Freeman of a double when he reached up to make a grab. The catch drew punches from starter Yu Darvish on the mound – and a chorus of boos from the stands. Tatís danced as cheers rained down. He said he doesn’t mind what fans say to him. He will come into action and also go back and forth.

But none of the Padres’ histrionics justified what happened in an embarrassing display in the seventh inning when Dodger fans threw baseballs toward Profar and trash toward Tatís. Profar was furious and only calmed down after his Padres teammates paid him a visit in shallow left field. There were multiple announcements over the PA speakers reminding fans not to throw anything on the field, and at one point, stadium security gathered around the Padres outfielders and escorted them away from the disturbance.

“You can shout all you want,” Profar said. “Just throwing stuff, people can get hurt.”

The chaos neither deterred Darvish, who went on to record another out to cap a seven-inning, one-run gem, nor a Padres offense that seemed sparked by the fiasco. After the delay, Machado gathered the team in the dugout and encouraged his teammates to stay locked in despite the arguments going on around them.

Earlier in the evening, Machado was involved in another argument, this one between the lines.

After Tatís — who is 9-for-14 with three home runs to start the postseason — homered and doubled in his first two at-bats, he was then hit on an 0-1 pitch by Jack Flaherty in a 3-1 game dropped near start of sixth inning. Profar and catcher Will Smith exchanged a few words. Machado, who thought Flaherty threw to Tatís, was also displeased.

Flaherty said he would not have deliberately tried to hit Tatís in that situation, but tensions nevertheless rose. After striking out Machado, the Dodgers pitcher shouted some nice words at the Padres third baseman, telling him to “sit down.” When Machado heard what Flaherty said, he squealed back. The two would continue trading barbs, and at one point appeared to challenge each other to a fight, before the end of the night.

As everyone seemed to lose their cool, the youngest player on the field kept his.

After Machado struck out and Flaherty left, Merrill won the ensuing left-left matchup and increased the Padres’ lead with an RBI single. Two innings later, the exciting rookie delivered the knockout blow with a two-run home run. After finishing the year leading all rookies in hits, batting average and slugging, Merrill has continued his success in October, with six hits in his first four career playoff games.

“He just shows up and sucks,” Tatís said. “What this kid has done for this team this year is just amazing. His talent is unbelievable, his character. I feel like everyone can see it, what kind of baseball player he is.”

On a night overshadowed by some bad actors in the stands, Tatís left them a parting gift in the ninth, sending another baseball back into the stands.

The crowd at Dodger Stadium threatened to derail the performance.

But a surprising Padres outfield stole the show again.

Now it’s a series.

“I know we’re about to go back to San Diego with a very, very loud, raucous, aggressive, hungry crowd that’s going to be super excited and going to get after it,” Shildt said. “But I also know we’ll stay classy, ​​San Diego.”

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the LA Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. Rowan, an LSU graduate, was born in California, raised in Texas and then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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