Baseball

A 21-year-old has been hit with two criminal charges ... after authorities claim he supplied Kavan Markwood -- a minor -- with alcohol just prior to the Pirates fan's tragic fall at PNC Park last month.

Court records show Ethan Kirkwood is facing two misdemeanor counts of furnishing liquor to Markwood a short time before the 20-year-old sustained significant injuries in a 21-foot tumble from his seat at the Pittsburgh vs. Chicago game on April 30.

A criminal complaint, obtained by TMZ Sports, states Kirkwood was seen on security video buying two tall cans of beer just before the start of the game. Subsequent video, the report states, showed Kirkwood and Markwood later holding beers in their hands.

Now that the Cubs or Sox confusion is settled, Pope Leo XIV's favorite baseball team decided to pay tribute to their holiest fan -- revealing a graphic installation in his honor at Rate Field!!

The Sox unveiled the stadium's newest attraction ahead of their matchup with the Seattle Mariners ... which features Leo XIV waving with the Chicago skyline behind him and a photo of him cheering for Chicago during the 2005 World Series.

Photos of his White Sox fandom surfaced shortly after the 69-year-old was revealed as the next Pontiff. In one of the snaps, he's shown chatting on his phone ... perhaps asking the Man Upstairs to help drive in some runs!!

New York Yankees infielder Oswaldo Cabrera is opening up on his devastating ankle injury ... saying he has been overwhelmed by the support he has received.

The 26-year-old shared in a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday night he experienced some nasty pain and "negative thoughts" as a result of the broken ankle, but woke up the next day to a ton of love.

"I had THOUSANDS of messages from my family, friends, fans, agents, coaches, teammates," he said. "I simply had messages from EVERYONE. I dropped the phone on the bed and with a big SMILE on my face, the first thing I could say was 'God, how blessed I am.'"

The Pittsburgh Pirates are paying tribute to a local icon ... the MLB team just dropped a sneak peek of their upcoming bobblehead night -- featuring the late Mac Miller.

The team showed off the soon-to-be collector's item Thursday morning ... which features Miller, rocking a Pirates jersey with the city's "412" area code, and wearing a yellow and black yin-yang cap.

Alongside the snaps of the giveaway item, the Pirates also dropped a video featuring Steel City locals speaking about Mac's impact. Pittsburgh outfielder Andrew McCutchen was also part of the video.

Longtime Reds announcer Marty Brennaman is thrilled Pete Rose is now eligible for the Hall of Fame -- but he admits he's still got a bone to pick with Major League Baseball ... telling TMZ Sports the decision should have been made YEARS ago.

Brennaman -- who called most of Rose's memorable moments in a Cincinnati uniform -- didn't make many bones about it during a sit-down with us the day after Rob Manfred lifted Rose's lifetime ban ... explaining, "I just felt he had served his jail time, if you will, far longer than he really should have had to do it."

"And," Brennaman added, "the fact they rushed to make him eligible within in a matter of months to me was the wrong way to go about doing business."

There's a lot to celebrate in the Ohtani household ... 'cause Shohei's famous pooch, Decoy, has made another trip around the sun ... and the Dodgers superstar commemorated the big birthday with an adorable tribute!!

The three-time MVP -- who has quite the stuffed trophy case -- gave his four-legged friend some hardware of his own ... by gifting him a "Most Valuable Dog" plaque.

Decoy also got flowers and a number two balloon for his little pawty. We didn't see any treats ... but with Ohtani's $700 million contract, we're sure he was able to splurge a bit.

11:45 AM PT -- The Yankees just placed Oswaldo Cabrera on the IL, listing his injury as "a left ankle fracture."

New York Yankees third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera was forced to leave the diamond Monday night inside an ambulance ... after he sustained a gruesome leg injury while sliding into home.

The tough-to-watch scene unfolded in the ninth inning of the Pinstripes' 11-5 victory over the Mariners in Seattle ... when Cabrera was racing to score on an Aaron Judge sacrifice fly.

In an effort to avoid the tag at home, Cabrera moved suddenly, but his left ankle didn't quite catch up with the rest of his body ... and it appeared to snap right on the field.

The Knicks game wasn't the only must-see event going down in the Big Apple on Monday -- the Mets also drew some big names for their matchup against Pittsburgh at Citi Field ... including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models!!

Camille Kostek, Ellie Thumann and Xandra Pohl were in attendance as the Mets began a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The group -- decked out in custom jerseys -- was tapped to throw out the first pitch.

Before doing the honors, they got some work in on the side with a group of players. Mark Vientos, Tyrone Taylor and Huascar Brazoban helped the ladies warm up their arms before taking the mound.

More details surrounding former Major League Baseball player Scott Sauerbeck's death have been revealed -- the 53-year-old passed away of complications from the flu.

TMZ Sports obtained the autopsy report from the District 12 Medical Examiner's Office in Florida ... which listed "sequela of acute influenza A, including streptococcal pharyngitis" as the official cause of death.

Hypertensive heart disease was listed as a contributory factor ... and his manner of death was natural.

The M in MLB might as well have stood for Mother on Sunday -- 'cause a bunch of players, including Phillies star Jose Alvarado, put their love for their moms on full display during their afternoons on the big league diamonds.

Take a look at Alvarado's cap as he came out of the bullpen during Philadelphia's 3-0 win over the Guardians at Progressive Field ... he had an adorable note written to his mom in silver ink.

"Happy Mother's Day," the message read. "I love Mom."

Before it was Pope Leo, it was "Let's go White Sox" for Robert Prevost ... as an unearthed photo shows the new pope cheered on the Pale Hose in person at a 2005 World Series game.

In the picture -- which was obtained by The Chicago Sun-Times shortly after Prevost was elected Pope Leo XIV on Thursday -- you can see the new pontiff chatting on a phone at U.S. Cellular Field as some of his close friends posed for a picture inches away.

According to Sports Illustrated, the image was from either Game 1 or Game 2 of the Series against the Houston Astros. The Sox won both -- the first by a score of 5-3, and the next 7-6. They went on to win the whole shebang, four games to none.

The Pittsburgh Pirates fan who sustained significant injuries in a fall at PNC Park last week was actually celebrating a play on the field just before his tragic tumble, new video from the stadium shows.

Check out the footage, which CBS obtained this week ... you can see Kavan Markwood jumping for joy over a hit the Pirates just got ... before he toppled over some short railing in front of him.

It appears to prove the police theory that the terrifying scene in the seventh inning of Pittsburgh's matchup with the Cubs was nothing more than a bad accident.

The Cincinnati Reds will be without rookie Tyler Callihan for a few months -- the left fielder underwent surgery to repair the gruesome arm fracture he suffered while trying to make a play earlier this week.

Callihan -- who signed a $1.5 million deal with Cincy -- had the procedure done on his forearm on Tuesday, just one day after he attempted to catch Matt Olson's fly ball during a tilt against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.

The moment was captured on the broadcast ... showing Callihan, 24, crashing into the wall and falling to the ground, holding his fractured arm.

A Pittsburgh Pirates game day employee has been suspended by the team ... after he was seen on video getting involved in an absolutely insane fistfight with a fan at PNC Park.

The violent scrum happened on Sunday -- as the Buccos were taking on the Padres.

According to CBS, the altercation went down after a Pirates employee -- who was wearing a white polo and tan pants -- tried to pull two men away from a tiff they had been having with a nearby concession worker.

Tough break for Reds rookie Tyler Callihan ... he snapped his arm while trying to make a diving catch Monday night -- and video of the play is tough to watch.

The gruesome scene unfolded in the third inning of Cincinnati's matchup with the Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta ... when Matt Olson blasted a deep fly ball to left field.

Callihan sprinted from his position to try to track it down ... and while he was initially able to secure it -- it popped free after he fractured his arm running into a nearby wall.

Pittsburgh Pirates fan Kavan Markwood is making strides in his recovery ... as he took his first steps since last week's terrifying incident at PNC Park, his loved ones announced on Monday.

The update was posted on the GoFundMe page created to raise money for his medical bills and the "financial hardships that this family is experiencing right now."

Jennifer Phillips -- the fundraiser's organizer -- shared the news of Kavan regaining the ability to walk ... saying, "Seeing him up and moving was a huge win and definitely lifted everyone's spirits."