Baseball

Three Pittsburgh Pirates staffers looked more like "The Three Stooges" on Monday night ... because they failed to corral a squirrel that had gotten loose in the outfield during a game -- and it was comical.

The little critter jetted out into left field during the second inning of the Buccos' game against the Chicago Cubs ... and a short time later, Pirates officials apparently thought it'd be good to send three guys out with a bucket, a towel and a net to get it away from players.

Turns out ... that was not a great idea.

Check out video from the game's broadcast, the trio hilariously tried everything they could to capture the squirrel -- but the animal juked them at every turn.

Eventually, the squirrel grew tired of making the guys look silly -- and bolted through a fence.

The scene was so hysterical, the MLB even had some fun with it ... tweeting out, "sandy cheeks wildin."

"Jeopardy!" champ Amy Schneider says she's gonna take Fox Sports at its word, that they did not intentionally cut out her first pitch at a Giants game celebrating Pride Day at the stadium.

Amy tells TMZ ... "They say the reason they misled their viewers was for cross-promotion, not anything to do with me, so I'll take them at their word." The director of the broadcast reached out to her personally to apologize and reiterate it had nothing to do with her identity. She believed him and accepted his apology.

ICYMI, Amy, the 1st openly transgender "Jeopardy!" champ, was invited to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Dodgers/Giants game. Problem was ... Amy's pitch never made air. Instead, Fox Sports ran another first pitch from several days earlier ... at the hands of Kurt Busch.

Fox Sports said the video of that pitch was part of a promotional package for an upcoming NASCAR race in Northern California.

They made it clear ... the intention was not to disrespect Amy, adding first pitches are rarely aired on the Network during games.

There are doubters on social media who aren't buying the story, but Amy is taking the explanation at face value.

Russell Wilson showed off his two-sport-athlete skills as he took batting practice at Coors Field on Thursday ... ripping homers in an impressive video!!

Meanwhile, Peyton Manning made contact with the ball!!

Of course, Wilson was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 4th round of the 2010 MLB Draft ... playing two seasons in the minors before deciding to return to college football and play for Wisconsin.

Manning, on the other hand, decided to focus solely on football after college ... and it was definitely for the best -- 'cause he didn't look quite as natural as Russ (still love ya, Peyt!)

The duo even took some grounders ... working on their double plays before the Rockies faced off against the Cleveland Guardians.

The two joked about their different experiences on the mound ... with Russell saying he was 6 years old the last time Peyton took a swing in the box.

And we'll admit ... it looked like it!!

Former New York Mets prospect Darwyn Encarnacion died following a horrific car crash in the Dominican Republic this week.

He was just 21 years old.

According to MLB insider Hector Gomez, Encarnacion was driving an SUV on Wednesday when it tumbled off a bridge and crashed into a ditch below it.

The former outfielder, according to multiple reports, had somehow survived the initial impact, but died at a local hospital a short time later.

A Mets academy executive in the Dominican Republic confirmed Encarnacion's tragic passing to Gomez ... saying, "He was a great human being, very disciplined, respectful and polite. He played with us for just one year, in 2019. He was even using his scholarship that the team gave him when he signed and was currently studying at university."

Encarnacion signed a minor league contract with the Mets in March 2019 ... and, a few months later, played for their Dominican Summer League team.

He logged 113 at-bats in 35 games ... tallying one home run, 10 steals and a .248 batting average. He was eventually released by the team in Oct. 2020.

Scary moment on the MLB diamond Tuesday ... an MLB ump was struck near his eye by a shattered bat -- but somehow, it appears the official is going to be OK.

The frightening scene happened in the ninth inning of the Dodgers' game against the Angels in L.A., when Mike Trout was at the dish looking to bring the Halos back from a 2-0 deficit.

On a 3-2 count, Trout smacked a ball so hard, his bat shattered ... and a large piece of the splintered lumber hit home plate ump Nate Tomlinson right in the face.

You can see in video from the game's broadcast, Tomlinson was nearly stabbed in the eyeball by the bat's jagged edge, and he immediately crumpled to the ground.

Trainers raced to Tomlinson's aid, and video shows he was bleeding from several areas of his head.

Tomlinson was forced to leave the game -- but, fortunately, he walked off under his own power. Second base umpire Laz Diaz eventually filled in for Tomlinson for the last few outs of the game.

Trout, who ultimately singled on the play, was left stunned by the scene. His Angels would go on to lose the game, 2-0.

Chris Rock is in good company these days, taking in a baseball game with Lake Bell.

The comedian and actress were in a box together Monday night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, watching a Cardinals game. They were spotted by eagle-eyed fans, who got them on camera together at different points in the evening ... including in this video, obtained by TMZ.

No signs of PDA, but they were definitely sitting together ... and seemed interested in maintaining a relatively low profile. We're told Chris did an on-camera interview at one point, and LB stepped away so she wouldn't be seen in the shot.

Chris has been performing comedy shows there lately, and it seems Lake is along for the ride. They're both single, and relatively fresh off of long-term marriages in recent years.

It's been about 3 months since CR got smacked across the face by Will Smith, and by all accounts ... he's doing just fine. Not only has he continued to work, but he now seems to have a new lady friend (maybe).

MLB star Joey Votto made a fan's day at the ballpark on Monday -- by fulfilling her request to create a TikTok video!!!

The adorable scene went down just before Votto's Cincinnati Reds played the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix ... when a young fan's sign caught the attention of the 38-year-old first baseman.

"Joey Votto," the girl's sign read, "will you make a TikTok with me?"

Votto, a fan favorite and a budding TikTok star himself, was all-in on the idea ... and immediately went to work with the fan -- a 12-year-old from Phoenix.

The two eventually had the idea to hit "The Griddy" -- a dance move popularized by NFL stars Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase -- and, check out the footage, it clearly came out awesome.

Joey did the dance well, but the girl clearly stole the show ... it certainly looked like she had some experience hitting it before!!

Joe Maddon chopped his hair into a mohawk in an effort to try and break the Angels' losing skid earlier this month -- but his team never got to see it ... because he was fired before he could show it off.

ESPN's Tim Kurkjian reported the somber story as part of a bigger piece on the Angels that aired before L.A.'s game against the New York Mets on Sunday night.

In the report, Kurkjian said the 68-year-old manager got the new 'do following the Halos' 12th straight loss on June 6 ... in an effort to try to bring better juju to his floundering squad.

The problem? Angels brass fired him unexpectedly -- and none of his team could see it.

Maddon had been hired by the Angels prior to the 2020 season. He piled up a 130-148 record in his two-plus seasons with the team.

Captain John J. Sax, son of Dodgers great Steve Sax, was one of five U.S. Marines killed when their aircraft went down during a training exercise in southern California on Wednesday.

He was 33 years old.

The cause of the accident, which occurred about 150 miles from San Diego, is still under investigation.

John, who served the corp. for over five years and was awarded The National Defense Service Medal, was identified as one of the occupants on board the aircraft at the time of the fatal crash. His father confirmed the tragic news in a statement on Saturday.

"It is with complete devastation that I announce that my precious son, Johnny was one of the five US Marines that perished on Wednesday, June 8, in the Osprey Military crash near San Diego," Steve said to CBSLA-TV.

"For those of you that knew Johnny, you saw his huge smile, bright light, his love for his family, the Marines, the joy of flying airplanes and defending our country! He was my hero and the best man I know, there was no better person to defend our country."

Steve, 62, won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1982 and the Silver Slugger award in 1986.

Sax, who played eight seasons with the Dodgers (he also spent time with the Yankees, White Sox and A's), made five All Star teams. He also won two world championships with Los Angeles ... in 1981 and 1988.

Sax retired in 1994.

Major League Baseball released a statement on the passing of Steve's son ... saying, "Today we remember the lives of John Sax, the son of former All-Star Steve, and four fellow Marines of the Purple Fox family who perished in a tragic aircraft accident."

"With gratitude for their service to our country, we send our deepest condolences to their families and friends."

There's absolutely no way Mike Scioscia returns to manage the Angels following Joe Maddon's firing ... the former Halos coach tells TMZ Sports he's officially done with that part of his life.

The 63-year-old, who coached L.A. from 2000 to 2018 -- winning one World Series -- told us out at LAX that even though his ex-team is looking for another manager after canning Maddon this week, he won't be a candidate.

"No, man," he said with a laugh. "No, I'm relaxing now. I'm retired."

Scioscia is still hanging around the game -- he coached the U.S. Olympics team to a silver medal in Tokyo last year -- and he's slated to be a manager for one of the teams in the All-Star Futures Game next month.

He made it clear, though, dabbling here and there on the end of the dugout bench is as far as he'll go these days.

"I've done my time," he said. "I loved it. But now, I'm in a little different scenario."

Earmuffs, kids!!!

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Anderson dropped a massive F-bomb during a game on Thursday that was so loud, it was actually captured on a hot mic at the stadium.

Anderson let the obscenity fly in the fourth inning of L.A.'s game against the White Sox in Chicago, after throwing his fourth ball to Jose Abreu.

The pitch, on a 3-2 count, just barely missed ... but Anderson still clearly hated it.

"F***!!!!" he screamed.

The game's broadcasters had fun with the moment ... with one saying, "There was something that he yelled when he delivered that ball and I'm thinking, you're a very young man, close your headset. You don't want to hear that."

Anderson ended up being pulled from the game a few batters later -- not because of cussin', but rather because he was just ineffective -- but it all still could end up OK for him.

Not even Chad Kroeger's sweet vocals were enough to pull the Angels out of their losing skid ... 'cause despite playing Nickelback songs on repeat in L.A. on Wednesday to try to get a win -- the team still lost.

Every Angels batter walked out to a different Nickelback tune in their game against Boston in an effort to mix up the mojo amid a 13-game losing streak ... and the idea had initial promise.

With Shohei Ohtani coming out to "Photograph" and Jo Adell strutting to the dish to "Rockstar" -- the team held up strong against the Red Sox for most of the game.

Sadly for L.A., the Nickelback theme didn't work ... and Boston ultimately pulled out the win, 1-0 -- handing the Angels their 14th consecutive loss.

Afterward, interim manager Phil Nevin -- who replaced the newly fired Joe Maddon this week -- said he had no clue where the idea started, but he was in favor of it.

"I like it. I like Nickelback," the 51-year-old said. "The entire game I've got songs in my head I can't stop singing."

Stunning news in the MLB ... the L.A. Angels have just fired Joe Maddon after hiring him less than three years ago.

The team announced the move Tuesday afternoon ... canning the 68-year-old as the Angels are currently mired in a 12-game losing streak.

The org. has named Phil Nevin manager in the interim.

Despite the team's skid of consecutive losses, most figured Maddon would at least make it through the year -- given his track record (he's a 3-time Manager of the Year and two-time World Series Champ) and the fact that the team just signed him before the 2020 season.

But, L.A. execs clearly believed the squad was underachieving ... especially with two of the best players in baseball in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the roster.

And, it certainly didn't help Maddon's case that he was getting snippy with reporters lately -- becoming visibly upset with some following the team's loss to the Red Sox on Monday night.

Tampa Bay Rays players refused to wear the Gay Pride logo on their uniforms this weekend -- saying their religious beliefs wouldn't allow it, but also saying they accept everyone.

The players are all pitchers, and there's 5 of them -- Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson. On Saturday, during the team's Pride Night celebration, they reportedly ditched the custom jerseys/hats featuring rainbow-colored lettering and instead opted for standard unis.

The reason ... "faith-based" purposes. Adam explained ... "So it’s a hard decision. Because ultimately we all said what we want is them to know that all are welcome and loved here."

He adds, "But when we put it on our bodies, I think a lot of guys decided that it’s just a lifestyle that maybe -- not that they look down on anybody or think differently -- it’s just that maybe we don’t want to encourage it if we believe in Jesus, who’s encouraged us to live a lifestyle that would abstain from that behavior, just like (Jesus) encourages me as a heterosexual male to abstain from sex outside of the confines of marriage. It’s no different."

Manager Kevin Cash said the players' decision had sparked some conversation in the clubhouse, but it doesn't sound like things have gotten heated ... and that the team understands.

Adam concluded ... "It’s not judgmental. It’s not looking down. It’s just what we believe the lifestyle he’s encouraged us to live, for our good, not to withhold. But again, we love these men and women, we care about them, and we want them to feel safe and welcome here."

The team was certainly in support of hyping the fact that it was Pride Night, as they've even changed their official logo on social media to reflect the month (as do many companies).

Longtime MLB announcer Jim Kaat has found himself embroiled in controversy yet again ... this time, it's because he referred to New York Yankees star Nestor Cortes as "Nestor the Molester" during a broadcast.

83-year-old Kaat was providing color commentary for the Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins game on Thursday afternoon ... when he tried to offer some on-air praise to Cortes, who was pitching against the L.A. Angels in a game in New York at the same time.

Kaat made a reference to Twins pitcher Devin Smeltzer and said, "That favorite pitcher, being kind of like Devin Smeltzer, 'Nestor the Molester!'"

"Nestor Cortes," Kaat added. "Man, he is fun to watch."

The comment was immediately hit with raised eyebrows on social media ... and while Kaat didn't address it again on-air, a Twins official told the Associated Press the team did speak with the Hall of Famer about the matter following the game.

"Obviously, we take these matters seriously and, like in all cases, will handle this internally and privately," Twins vice president of communications and content Dustin Morse said, before adding, "Jim meant no ill will."

Cortes, meanwhile, was also asked about the comment ... but he told the AP he was not offended.

"I'm sure, you know, he didn't really mean it," the left-handed pitcher said, "and people make mistakes, but it didn't offend me at all."

This is the second time in less than a year Kaat has faced backlash for an on-air remark ... back in October, he was forced to apologize for making a slavery reference during a Yoan Moncada at-bat in an Astros vs. White Sox playoff game.

Kaat -- a former Twins pitcher who was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame last year -- has been broadcasting games for decades.

One of the most recognizable fight songs in all of college sports is getting a makeover ... Notre Dame just announced its changing lines in its famous tune to recognize the university's "daughters."

The school just made the change official ... revealing Friday morning instead of singing "While her loyal sons are marching/Onward to victory" in the song, the line will now be sung as, "While her loyal sons and daughters/March on to victory."

Notre Dame officials say they made the change to the song -- which is played and sung continuously at Fighting Irish sports events -- in part to honor the 50th anniversary of the university's decision to admit female undergraduate students.