A scary scene unfolded in the top of the fifth inning in San Diego between the Giants and Padres on Thursday night. A pop up off the bat of Tommy La Stella ended up right in between where shortstop C.J. Abrams and left fielder Jurickson Profar were positioned.
While the ball was caught by a running Abrams to record the out, he and Profar collided. The outfielder took the brunt of the hit to the side of his face and his his jaw. Warning to anyone who doesn't handle viewing injuries well, this is rough: Here's the play and here's a slower look that isolates the impact Profar took.
Both players were immediately on the ground in pain and Profar remained there for a bit, holding the side of his head and his jaw. But then the situation turned even scarier. Profar eventually attempted to walk off the field under his own power but stumbled and appeared to lose consciousness before collapsing on the field.
Several minutes later, he was carted off the field with his head and neck immobilized.
Profar did fist bump a few teammates and before being taken off the field in the stretcher seemed alert.
After serving as a utility man for the last several seasons, Profar has settled in as the everyday left fielder for the Padres this season and, more recently, has held down the leadoff spot. He's hitting .242/.343/.397 with 20 doubles, two triples, eight homers, 38 RBI, 50 runs and four steals.
Profar will be undergoing a battery of tests in the ballpark, according to the Padres, before a visit to the hospital later on Thursday night and early Friday morning. The latest word from the team was that Profar was transported to UC San Diego Health for evaluation.
