Baseball

Manny Machado lost his freakin' mind on the diamond Wednesday night -- going on an F-bomb-laced tirade ... and it's all 'cause a Dodgers pitcher celebrated a great defensive play.

Here's the deal ... in the 7th inning of Game 2 of San Diego's playoff series with L.A. -- Brusdar Graterol took the mound to try to help close things out for the Dodgers.

The problem? He let a fastball out over the middle of the plate that Fernando Tatis Jr. CRUSHED -- and it looked like a no-doubter, 2-run bomb that would give the Pads a 5-4 lead.

But, centerfielder Cody Bellinger saved the day ... robbing the HR with ease -- and Graterol went NUTS!!!

Brusdar threw his glove with joy, then tossed his hat, then fist-pumped ... and Machado (who had bat flipped the hell out of a homer earlier in the game) hated ALL. OF. IT.

The former Dodger melted down on the diamond, telling Graterol "F*ck you!" repeatedly, before adding, "I'll be waiting for you!"

Graterol soaked in the trash talk ... blowing the guy a kiss -- while the rest of his Dodgers teammates told Machado to sit down.

The next inning, Graterol went on to get Machado to ground out ... and the Dodgers eventually sweated out a 6-5 win to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.

Great theater.

An ultra-rare, 110-year-old Honus Wagner baseball card is about to hit the auction block ... and it's expected to sell for OVER $1.2 MILLION!!

The 1909-11 T-206 Wagner is regarded by hardcore collectors as one of the most desirable cards in existence.

How desirable?? Well, Goldin Auctions -- the auction site selling the Wagner card -- previously sold a version of the T-206 for $3.12 MILLION in 2016!!

This Wagner card -- featuring a portrait of Honus on the front with a "Sweet Caporal" cigarette ad on the back -- isn't quite graded as high ... but with only around only 50 in existence, it's one of the most valuable pieces of cardboard in the world.

FYI, Honus -- an 8-time NL batting champion and Hall of Famer -- played from 1897 to 1917. Wagner was a career .329 hitter and he racked up 3,430 hits ... and is widely considered one of the greatest ballplayers ever.

Fun fact ... Wagner earned less than $140K over his 2-decade long career. Now, his baseball card will likely sell for 8 times what he made playing ball.

The card hits the GA block on October 12 ... good luck!!

California-born athlete Randy Johnson (also known as "The Big Unit") was a household name in the '90s as the lanky lefty pitcher with one heck of a fastball and an equally epic mustache and mullet combination.

Randy has beamed balls across the plate for a bunch of great baseball organizations including the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros and New York Yankees ... but he was best known for his contributions to the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners.

Johnson was photographed on the mound for over two decades ... but has now taken on a career on the other side of the lens as a photographer.

Bob Gibson -- one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history -- has died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

The St. Louis Cardinals legend passed away while in hospice care in Omaha, Nebraska ... according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Gibson had been in the cancer fight for more than a year.

During his 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, Gibson was THE MAN!!!

A 2-time World Series champ. 2-time World Series MVP. 2 Cy Young awards. NL MVP in 1968.

He made the All-Star team 9 times! He was a 9-time Gold Glove winner.

He logged 3,117 strikeouts! 251 wins!!

RIDICULOUS, RIGHT?!!

Of course, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981 -- first ballot.

The Cardinals retired his #45 back in 1975 and put him in the franchise Hall of Fame in 2014. There's also a statue of Gibson in front of Busch Stadium.

He was also a MONSTER on the basketball court!! In fact, he had a brief stint with the Harlem Globetrotters back in the day!

What is ... baseball???

No, seriously -- what is baseball? That's the question all of the contestants on "Jeopardy!" were asking themselves Thursday when Alex Trebek revealed a category dedicated to Yankee Stadium.

Look, sometimes Jeopardy gets a crop of contestants who know a little something about sports ... but man, this group was STRUGGLING.

Props to Mason who correctly got "Babe Ruth" after an obvious $200 clue. But, the gang went 0-4 on the rest of the category.

No one knows anything about Aaron Judge? Or Mickey Mantle? Or Yogi Berra?!!?

And, you should see the panic on Mason's face when the $2,000 answer is revealed to be the Daily Double! PANIC!!!!

Even the official Jeopardy twitter account took a swipe at the contestants ...

"We didn't expect this category about the Bronx Bombers to bomb so hard. Oh well! @Yankees."

Still, nothing beats when Trebek clowned a bunch of contestants for butchering a football category back in 2018.

Sorry, Yankees ... former MLB All-Star Royce Clayton says the Dodgers will win the World Series -- telling TMZ Sports, "This is the year."

Clayton -- who we got out checking the surf in Malibu on Thursday morning -- says it pains him to make the prediction as a longtime S.F. Giant ... but he says he just sees it coming.

"I live here, I got love for them," Clayton admitted. "And, you know, if my Giants aren't in there, then I have to say I'm rooting for the home team."

Clayton says there are a few reasons he's pushing L.A. over NY and others to win the 'ship ... #1 being the addition of Mookie Betts.

"That really puts their offense in another tier," Clayton says.

Clayton added he believes the Dodgers' starting pitching is great ... and says he thinks Kenley Jansen will have a big postseason as well.

As for the team's shortstop ... Clayton tells us he LOVES Corey Seager -- adding the dude should be in line for a HUGE payday this offseason.

Mariah Carey is opening up about her first sexual experience with Derek Jeter ... going as far as to detail his "honey-dipped skin."

Carey spoke out about their romance in her new book, "The Meaning of Mariah Carey", saying she met the MLB legend at a dinner party back in 1997 ... but she admits they didn't hit it off right away.

It wasn't until they shared their experiences about being biracial that Carey saw Jeter as a "Prince Charming" ... and they started to get serious feelings for each other.

The two began to secretly talk ... and shared "a warm, slow, intoxicating kiss" on Jeter's roof (which inspired her song, "The Roof") ... but they never took it further because "Neither of us had wanted to cheapen our romance by cheating on my marriage."

Once her divorce with Sony music exec. Tommy Mottola was complete, Carey says she wasted no time and flew to Tampa to do the deed with Jeter.

"Everything was so new and sweet, down to the smooth texture of his honey-dipped skin. It was how it was supposed to feel," Carey says, according to TooFab.

Carey called the experience "so sensual" ... and admitted he was only the second guy she had slept with.

As special as it was, Carey knew it wasn't going to last ... saying they were both huge stars and could not "live up to each other's fantasies," but they both fulfilled each other's needs at the time.

Thom Brennaman is officially OUT as Cincinnati Reds play-by-play man ... the 57-year-old formally resigned from his position weeks after he used a homophobic slur on air.

Remember, back on Aug. 19, Brennaman was broadcasting the Reds-Royals game ... when he was caught on a microphone referring to a place as "one of the f** capitals of the world."

Brennaman had been indefinitely suspended by the team over the comment ... but on Friday, Thom announced he was officially stepping away from the broadcasting position for good.

"My family and I have decided that I am going to step away from my role as the television voice of the Cincinnati Reds,” Brennaman told WCPO in Cincinnati.

"I would like to thank the Reds, Reds fans and the LGBTQ Community for the incredible support and grace they have shown my family and me."

It's obviously a big deal ... Brennaman had been working with the Reds since 2006 -- and was regarded as one of the best announcers in MLB prior to his suspension.

Brennaman has repeatedly apologized for his use of the slur ... and recently claimed he's now a "better person" after weeks of reflecting on the incident.

Brennaman -- who was also booted from his role as an NFL play-by-play announcer for Fox -- told WCPO he's hoping to one day return to a headset again.

"I have been in this profession that I love for 33 years," Thom said. "It is my hope and intention to return. And if I'm given that opportunity, I will be a better broadcaster and a much better person."

Oneil Cruz -- arguably the best minor league prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates' org. -- was in an accident in the Dominican Republic on Monday that reportedly left 3 people dead.

The MLB team confirmed Cruz's involvement in the crash Tuesday ... calling the incident "tragic."

"We have been in contact with Oneil," the Pirates added, "and he is cooperating fully with the local authorities."

According to Diario Libre, one of the biggest news outlets in the DR, 21-year-old Cruz was riding in a jeep down a highway when it came up from behind and hit a motorcycle.

The outlet reports the bike -- which had 3 occupants on it -- did NOT have its lights on. The report added all three people on the motorcycle died from injuries suffered in the crash.

Cruz was not seriously injured in the wreck ... the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The Pirates said they are still gathering info on the situation ... and will provide more on it all as it becomes available.

Cruz is a 6-foot-7, 210-pound infielder who is currently #3 on the team's top 30 prospect list. He had been playing this season at the team's alternate site in Altoona, Penn., before that camp broke last week.

Amazing news ... Baltimore Orioles star Trey Mancini just finished 6 months of chemotherapy treatments -- and his GF couldn't have been happier, saying, "This is the best day ever!!!!"

Mancini has been battling stage-3 colon cancer ever since docs discovered a tumor last spring ... and the road for the MLB slugger to get better has been tough as hell.

Mancini described getting chemo treatments amid the coronavirus pandemic as "crazy" ... and added he's been forced to receive his drugs through a mediport in his chest.

But Mancini's GF, Sara Perlman, said Monday the 28-year-old was finally done with his chemo treatments ... and she was THRILLED for Baltimore's outfielder!!

"TREY DID IT!!!!" Perlman said. "He completed chemotherapy!!! What a six months it has been. I’ve never been more proud & joyful."

She added, "Thank you for all the love and support. We are SOOOO grateful!!!!"

The Orioles, meanwhile, gave Mancini a sweet present for completing the treatments -- a signed team photo with personal messages from the guys.

Mancini was moved by the gift ... saying of the framed pic, "I'm speechless right now. This is one of the coolest things I've ever gotten."

Terrifying scene at Yankees Stadium on Wednesday ... an MLB ump was drilled in the face by a 99-MPH Gerrit Cole fastball -- and things did NOT look good for the guy for a while.

The unbelievable moment all went down in the 7th inning of New York's blowout win over the Toronto Blue Jays ... when Cole was looking to strike out Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

On a 3-2 count, Cole threw his trademark heater up in the zone to get the punch-out ... but it appeared his catcher, Kyle Higashioka, was expecting a breaking pitch.

The result? The ball screamed past Higashioka's glove and ended up cracking home plate ump John Tumpane right on the chin.

The video of the throw is scary ... you can hear Tumpane let out a huge yelp as the pitch struck his face -- with the ump then immediately crumpling to the ground.

The 37-year-old sat on the dirt for a few moments ... and got up trying to shake off the hard hit.

Eventually, trainers gave Tumpane the OK to get back in the game ... and Cole later apologized after the inning for the cross-up with his catcher.

JLo and A-Rod are leaving Malibu, at least for now, because we've learned they just sold their beach house.

The house is right on the sand, smack dab in one of the best areas of the 'Bu. They sold the house for $6,775,000.

The house is 4,400 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. When they bought it in January 2019, they did some renovations. We believe they initially planned to live in the house, but they had a change of heart and decided to sell.

They bought the property for $6.6 mil so they pretty much broke even. It wasn't long after they bought it when we got photos of JLo outside the home with "Fixer Upper" star Joanna Gaines. Gaines was allegedly brought on to help renovate the home and get it ready to sell.

MLB has officially postponed a game due to air quality ... Tuesday's Giants vs. Mariners tilt has now been moved as wildfire smoke in the Seattle area continues to blanket the city.

The Mariners were able to get a doubleheader in against the Oakland A's on Monday in Washington ... but the smokey air was so thick -- it looked like players were competing in a dark cloud.

Rather than repeating that again Tuesday ... officials decided it was best to reschedule the Tuesday contest -- moving it to San Francisco with a new start time to be announced later.

Seems the decision was a no-brainer ... health officials in the Seattle area have warned of severely poor air quality this week, with wildfires still burning and pumping smoke into the sky.

In fact, officials say the air quality is so poor in the area ... there's a danger that it can cause burning eyes and aggravate lung and heart diseases.

Officials added they're recommending citizens stay home and avoid outdoor activities.

Charles Peterson -- a longtime amateur scout for the St. Louis Cardinals -- died Sunday after a weeks-long battle with COVID-19 ... the team announced.

He was only 46-years-old.

The baseball scout had been hospitalized with coronavirus on Aug. 17 ... and had been placed on a ventilator shortly after he was admitted, his family and friends said over the weekend.

They added in a statement on a GoFundMe page Sunday they were devastated over his passing.

"It is with a heavy and broken heart I share that our beloved Charles ‘Pete’ has lost his battle with COVID-19," the statement read.

Peterson was very respected in MLB circles ... and the Cardinals say he was actually responsible for scouting their 1st-round pick this season, third baseman Jordan Walker.

"Charles had an incredible impact on our scouting department,” Cardinals director of scouting Randy Flores said. "He brought a tremendous work ethic, keen eye, and booming laugh with him every day."

"My prayers are with his wife Karen and family as anyone who ever talked to CP knew how proud he was of them."

Peterson was picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of high school in the 1st round of the 1993 MLB draft -- just 21 selections after the Seattle Mariners drafted Alex Rodriguez.

Peterson -- who went on to play several years in the minor leagues as well as internationally -- joined the Cardinals' scouting department in 2012.

"Charles always would light up the Draft room," president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. "His smile, his voice, his energy -- you knew it was Charles. He was a special man that made others better. He will be missed."

As MLB and other pro sports wrestle with how to handle the pandemic -- Peterson's death is a reminder about how serious the situation still is.

Forget how savagely Joe Kelly trolled the Houston Astros back in July??

No worries ... the Dodgers pitcher's incredible pouty face jab has now been immortalized with a mural in Los Angeles -- AND IT'S 16 FEET OF INCREDIBLE!!!

Jonas Never -- one of the most famous street artists in the country -- painted the piece this week on a barbershop near Dodgers Stadium ... and it was completed just in time for the 'Stros-Dodgers series this weekend.

If you don't recall ... during the last series between LA and Houston -- Kelly nearly incited an all-out brawl on July 28 by firing pitches at Astros stars Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa.

Of course ... everyone thought the tight balls were intentional -- considering, you know, the whole cheating scandal -- and the two teams REALLY got into it.

At one point, before the benches cleared, Kelly trolled Correa by allegedly calling him a "bitch" ... and then by hitting him with 1 of the most memorable faces in recent MLB history.

Kelly went on to ultimately be suspended for 5 games over the incident ... and, he never really apologized.

In fact, the 32-year-old pitcher later called the Astros straight-up "little bitches"!!!

Sadly, since Kelly's still on the injured list and has yet to serve his suspension -- there will be no rematch between him and Bregman/Correa this weekend.

But, hey ... at least there's a sick mural now to remind everyone of the good times!!

29 RUNS!!!

The Atlanta Braves scored 29 runs in ONE GAME against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday ... one of the highest-scoring games in MLB history!

The star of the game was Adam Duvall -- the left fielder smashed 3 home runs Wednesday ... including a 7th inning grand slam!

Duvall ended up with 9 RBIs!!!

Freddie Freeman also balled out -- with 6 RBIs on 3 hits, including a 2-run homer.

In total, the Braves hit SEVEN home runs in the 29-9 victory at Truist Park in ATL, in front of zero fans.

The 29 runs from the Braves tie for the 2nd most runs scored in an MLB game in the modern era.

The Texas Rangers posted 30 against the Orioles in 2007. Before that, the Red Sox posted 29 in 1950 and the White Sox scored 29 in 1955.

After the game, Freeman couldn't believe it.

"Pretty amazing ... Hard to put into words, really, when you look up and see 29 runs on the board."

Duvall was also stoked.

"I've known that homers come in bunches, but something like that is pretty special ... I'm going to enjoy this one tonight."