Jurickson Profar is out of the Padres’ lineup with patellar tendinitis in his left knee

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, who is second in the major leagues in batting average and third in on-base percentage, was out of the lineup Wednesday with patellar tendinitis in his left knee.

Profar said he’s been dealing with the issue for years, and that it’s been bad for a month. He fell down while swinging at a pitch in the eighth inning in Tuesday night’s 4-3 win against Oakland and was removed from the game.

“Some days it’s just really bad. Yesterday was the worst day in a while,” he said before the Padres finished a series against the Athletics.

In the fifth inning Tuesday night, Profar hit a two-run single and then was thrown out trying to score on Manny Machado’s double.

Profar is having an exceptional season at age 31, and on a $1 million contract. He came into Wednesday’s games second in the majors with a .324 average and third with a .424 OBP. He was brought back on a one-year contract after Juan Soto was sent to the New York Yankees in a blockbuster trade in December.

Manager Mike Shildt said Tuesday night that Profar’s injury is “something he’s been battling and playing with a little bit. … It’s something he’s dealt with and medically we have a handle on. I think we’ve got a pretty good idea of what this is and we’ve been able to treat it and get ahead of it. Tonight it just was one of those nights that wasn’t good for him.”

Fernando Tatis Jr., whose career-best 17-game hitting streak is the longest current streak in the majors, said watching Profar have to leave the game was “concerning. It’s huge. It’s like losing our very backbone right now.”

Profar will get an extra day to recover since the Padres are off Thursday before starting a three game series at the New York Mets on Friday night.

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