Padres warn fans about abusive behavior ahead of NLDS Game 3 against Dodgers

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres have reminded fans about their zero-tolerance policy for bad behavior ahead of Game 3 of their NL Division Series against rival Los Angeles after tempers flared on the field and in the stands at Dodger Stadium on Sunday night.

Game 2 was delayed for 12 minutes after rowdy fans tossed baseballs in the direction of San Diego left fielder Jurickson Profar, and then threw trash onto the outfield. Profar had robbed Mookie Betts of a home run in the first inning, reaching into the stands behind the low left-field wall. He trolled the fans by staring at them and then hopping up and down several times before throwing the ball to the infield.

Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty and Padres third baseman Manny Machado directed expletives at each other a handful of times, including after Flaherty hit Fernando Tatis Jr. with a pitch and after he struck out Machado.

The Padres won 6-5 on Tuesday night in front of a Petco Park-record crowd of 47,744 fans to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. Tatis' towering two-run home run highlighted the six-run second inning.

Game 4 is Wednesday night, when the Padres can eliminate the Dodgers in the NLDS for the second time in three seasons.

In a statement emailed to season ticket holders and posted on social media, Padres team president Erik Greupner credited fans with creating the best home-field advantage in baseball while reiterating that any fan who throws items onto the field or makes offensive, foul or abusive comments to anyone will be ejected.

“Our game is at its best when our players and fans give everything they have for their team and city while showing respect and sportsmanship towards players and fans of the opposing team,” Greupner wrote. “There is never an excuse for abusive speech or behavior towards others at Petco Park."

“As we continue our push for a World Series championship, our team needs you more than ever,” Greupner added. “Please continue to cheer for the Padres with all you have while showing class and good sportsmanship to those around you.”

The Padres drew a club-record 3,314,593 fans to the downtown ballpark this season, with 56 sellouts in 80 games. They gave up one home game to play a two-game opening series in Seoul, South Korea, against the Dodgers.

On Monday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was “bothersome” and “unsettling” that a ball Machado threw into the Dodgers dugout seemed intended for him during the Padres’ 10-2 win the night before. Machado said he was merely throwing in a ball after infield warmups between innings.

Asked about Roberts' comments, Padres manager Mike Shildt said he would never disparage a player on another team or an entire team.

“That’s not how I want to operate,” Shildt said several hours before first pitch of Game 3. “I have a lot of respect for their club, the players on their club.”

After the seventh inning Sunday night, Machado called a quick team huddle in the dugout to keep the Padres focused. In the following two innings, they scored six more runs and hit four of their six home runs, including a second one by Tatis.

“As far as Manny goes, it’s unfortunate people can’t move on from things from the past,” Shildt said. “I thought Manny’s exhibition of professionalism and leadership were on display the other night in a very tough environment. He nor I nor anyone would profess to be perfect, but Manny has made some strides that are very impressive both on and off the field. It’s been a privilege to witness that.”

Machado was traded from Baltimore to the Dodgers on July 18, 2018, and was with them when they lost to Boston in the World Series. In Game 2 of the NL Championship Series, he failed to run out a grounder. He later said he was “not the type of player that’s going to be ‘Johnny Hustle.'”

Machado is still booed at Dodger Stadium. He signed with the Padres as a free agent the following spring training and is loved by San Diego fans.

“Regardless of what happened, we’re here for one task and one task at hand,” rookie Jackson Merrill said. “Manny has been a really good leader. He’s done a really good job keeping us focused on that one thing. I don’t think any of us view him in a different way besides being a leader.”

Dodgers infielder Max Muncy said the atmosphere at Petco Park the last several years “has been tops in baseball. I wouldn’t expect anything different.”

Asked if the Padres are trying to get under the Dodgers' skins, Muncy said the atmosphere at Petco plays off the players' emotions.

“Even in regular-season games, just something as simple as a single and you see the guy throwing the bat 30 feet in the air, that really gets the crowd going here,” Muncy said. “That is kind of part of their game is trying to get under your skin and trying to have the emotion come out and get you to do something that you’re not normally doing.”

Muncy said a pitcher might see that "and all of a sudden you want to throw harder and now you’re missing balls right over the plate, and that’s when their guys are doing the damage.

“It’s easier said than done, obviously, but you can’t let that happen,” Muncy said.

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

San Diego Padres' Xander Bogaerts, center, scores past Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith, right, as Jackson Merrill celebrates on a double by David Peralta during the second inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., right, celebrates as he scores after hitting a two-run home run as Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith stands at the plate during the second inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto holds a glove up to his face during batting practice before Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts warms up before Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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 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)

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.

Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.

Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.

Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.

He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”

He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.

Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar."

On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait.”

An image taken from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect after car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (TNN/DPA via AP)

A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)