Jurickson Profar Would Be 'Mad At Everybody' If Padres Don't Keep Winning

Jurickson Profar might be the best bargain free-agent signing in Major League Baseball this season. He has also been the most important player in the San Diego Padres lineup.

On Thursday, he drove in his team-leading 56th run and his team-leading ninth game-deciding run. He has been the rock in the clubhouse for a team that is without Fernando Tatis Jr. and has only had Manny Machado as a designated hitter for most of the season.

Profar has been the voice with the media and with his teammates. After the Padres lost in Philadelphia near the end of a 1-5 road trip in mid-June, Profar said as a team the Padres "just have to play better.”

“Now we are here,” he said Thursday, “and I don’t expect anything less from this team.”

The Padres head home to host the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Seattle Mariners, and the Atlanta Braves in the final stretch before the All-Star break.

Profar’s main focus now is on the Padres maintaining their ascension. They have pulled within 6.5 games in the NL West and hold a lead for a Wild Card spot.

“There is no going back,” he said. “I will be mad at everybody if we don’t play at this level.”