Tossed balls from stands, apparently aimed at Profar, interrupts Padres' win in NLDS Game 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tempers flared on the field and in the stands at Dodger Stadium, with rowdy fans tossing baseballs, apparently at San Diego left fielder Jurickson Profar, and then trash that caused a 12-minute wait between pitches during the seventh inning of the Padres' 10-2 win in NL Division Series Game 2 on Sunday night.

“That's just not acceptable,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said.

There were words exchanged between Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty and Padres slugger Manny Machado, who took exception to Flaherty hitting Fernando Tatis Jr.

“Well, shoot, I’ve seen over a thousand games here, well over a thousand games in this ballpark, and I’ve never seen anything like that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It was ugly.”

Profar had robbed Mookie Betts of a home run in the first inning, reaching into the stands behind the low left-field wall. Left field umpire Adrian Johnson circled his arm signaling a home run.

But Profar battled the outstretched arms of fans, reeling in the ball on the webbing of his glove and helping spark the Padres to evening the best-of-five series at one game each.

“He tried," Profar said of a fan who tried to snatch the ball. "I dunked on him.”

Profar hopped away backward as he stared at the astonished fans, then threw the ball to the infield. Later, there were verbal exchanges between fans and Profar.

“He said the fans out there were trying to get it out of his glove,” Padres slugger Manny Machado said. “What a hell of a catch to start off the game."

With San Diego leading 4-1 and Yu Darvish warming up for the bottom of the seventh, fans appeared to be yelling at Profar, who motioned back at them with his right arm.

A couple of balls were thrown. Johnson came up to him, soon joined by Shildt, San Diego players and more umpires. Profar yelled and pointed before teammate Xander Bogaerts put an arm around him and Padres players, including Darvish, formed a huddle.

“Yes, I was upset. You can hurt somebody,” Profar said. “I hope our people in San Diego don’t do that.”

Profar said Dodgers fans “wanted to start throwing stuff on the field yesterday.”

Roberts said, "Obviously there’s a lot of emotions and things like that. But that’s something that should never happen.”

Dodgers security staff attempted to identify the fans who caused the trouble.

“We were looking for a higher security presence out in the left-field corner to ensure that that behavior didn’t continue and to make sure that if anybody did throw anything out on the field they would be identified immediately and removed from the stadium,” umpire crew chief Dan Bellino said.

Public address announcer Todd Leitz told the crowd: “We ask that you do not throw objects onto the field.”

“You’re in a tough environment,” Machado said. “You’re going to get some things said to you but once you start throwing things onto the field that’s just uncalled for.”

There was trash on the warning track in right field near the Padres bullpen.

“Now we had a second instance that was happening at a different part of the stadium, so we just had to reiterate with security that we needed an enhanced security out in right field as well,” Bellino said.

After the seventh inning, Machado gathered his teammates for a brief meeting in their dugout.

Machado said his message was “just stay focused.”

Flaherty hit Tatis with a pitch in the sixth inning, and Profar exchanged words with Dodgers catcher Will Smith.

“You can’t get him out, don’t hit him,” Machado said. “They got the best player in the game, (Shohei) Ohtani. We don’t go out there and try to hit Ohtani. We try to get him out.”

Flaherty struck Machado out swinging with Tatis and another runner on in the sixth.

“He did some s—- in between innings. He threw a ball at our dugout,” Flaherty said. “There was no reason for that.”

Asked about Flaherty's accusation, Machado said, “I throw balls all the time into dugouts. Both dugouts. They have bad balls, you throw the ball back in there.”

Bellino said the situation never escalated to the point umpires considered directing players off the field.

“We would not hesitate to do that if we thought that their safety was in jeopardy,” he said. “And if that was to proceed, then obviously it would be referred to the commissioner’s pffice to see if a potential forfeit would be called for.”

The best-of-five series moves to Petco Park for Game 3 on Tuesday.

“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 be getting after it,” Shildt said, before borrowing a line from the Will Ferrell comedy “Anchorman.”

“But I know also that we’ll stay classy, San Diego.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. is hit by a pitch during the sixth inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, left, is held back by teammates after he protested with umpires when items were thrown at him in the outfield during the seventh inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, second from right, and third baseman Manny Machado talk to the umpires after items were thrown at Profar in the outfield during the seventh inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt (8) and players talk to umpires after items were thrown on the field by fans during the seventh inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Fans react toward San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, foreground, after items were thrown at him in the outfield during the seventh inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Padres, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, right, talks to umpire Adrian Johnson after items were thrown at Profar in the outfield during the seventh inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish, middle right, talks with third baseman Manny Machado (13), shortstop Xander Bogaerts, middle left, and catcher Kyle Higashioka on the mound during the sixth inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Israel's yearlong offensive against Hamas, launched in response to the militant group's Oct. 7 attack into Israel, has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused staggering destruction across the Gaza Strip that could take decades to rebuild.

Hundreds of thousands of people are crammed into squalid tent camps with no homes to return to, even if there is a cease-fire. The mountains of rubble alone, laced with human remains, unexploded ordnance and other hazardous materials, could take years to remove.

Israel blames the destruction on Hamas. Its Oct. 7 attack on Israel — in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage — ignited the war. Hamas embedded much of its military infrastructure, including hundreds of kilometers (miles) of tunnels, in densely populated areas where some of the heaviest battles were fought.

The fighting left roughly a quarter of all structures in Gaza destroyed or severely damaged, according to a U.N. assessment in September based on satellite footage. It said around 66% of structures, including more than 227,000 housing units, had sustained at least some damage.

Here's a look at the main takeaways from an AP interactive report looking at the scope of the devastation.

Israel's offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than 96,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It does not say how many were fighters, but says women and children make up more than half of those killed.

It also says the toll may be higher as thousands of bodies remain buried under rubble or in areas that are inaccessible to medical teams.

Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, but has not provided evidence. Over 720 Israeli soldiers have been killed since Oct. 7, including in the attack itself, the war in Gaza and the conflict with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.

The U.N. estimates that around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times. Israeli evacuation orders now cover around 90% of the territory.

Schools have been turned into shelters, and hundreds of thousands have crammed into sprawling tent camps along the coast.

The Shelter Cluster, an international coalition of aid providers led by the Norwegian Refugee Council, says it has struggled to bring in basic supplies because of Israeli restrictions, the ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order in Gaza.

It estimates that some 900.000 people are in need of tents and bedding.

The war has gutted Gaza's infrastructure, which was already in bad shape after a 16-year blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt when Hamas seized power in 2007.

The U.N. says the war has damaged or destroyed over 92% of Gaza's main roads and more than 84% of its health facilities.

It estimates nearly 70% of Gaza’s water and sanitation plants have been destroyed or damaged. That includes all five of the territory’s wastewater treatment facilities, plus desalination plants, sewage pumping stations, wells and reservoirs.

The breakdown of water infrastructure has flooded the streets with sewage in many areas, contributing to the spread of disease among a population weakened by widespread hunger.

Where houses, shops and office buildings once stood, there are now giant drifts of rubble laced with human remains, hazardous substances and unexploded munitions.

The U.N. estimates the war has left some 40 million tons of debris and rubble in Gaza, enough to fill New York’s Central Park to a depth of eight meters (about 25 feet). It could take up to 15 years and nearly $650 million to clear it all away, it said.

The World Bank estimated $18.5 billion in damage in Gaza from just the first three months of the war, before several major Israeli operations. That figure is nearly equivalent to the combined economic output of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022.

Wealthy Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have said they are only willing to contribute to Gaza’s reconstruction as part of a postwar settlement that creates a path to a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled that out, saying he won’t allow Hamas or even the Western-backed Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza. He has said Israel will maintain open-ended security control and delegate civilian affairs to local Palestinians. But none are known to have volunteered, and Hamas has threatened to kill anyone who aids the occupation.

Israel allowed construction materials in before the war, but the system was subject to heavy restrictions and delays.

The Shelter Cluster estimates that it would take 40 years to rebuild all of Gaza’s destroyed homes under that system.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Palestinians walk through the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive on Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians walk through the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive on Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Displaced Palestinians line up to collect water at a makeshift tent camp in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

FILE - Palestinians pray in front of a mosque destroyed by the Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, March 8, 2024, ahead of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)

FILE - Palestinians walk through the destruction in the wake of an Israeli air and ground offensive in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)

FILE - Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on residential buildings and a mosque in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)

FILE - Palestinians inspect the rubble of buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike at Al Shati Refugee Camp Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)

FILE - Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on residential buildings and a mosque in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)

FILE - Smoke and explosions rise inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

FILE - Palestinians salvage what they could from the destruction left by Israeli troops in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)