Baseball

Good news, bad news for Shohei Ohtani -- The good news?? He hit his 27th home run of the season on Tuesday. The bad?? The ball landed right on a little kid's noggin.

The dinger went down during the seventh inning of the L.A. Dodgers' 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks ... when he took Justin Martinez's pitch over 400 feet and into the right-field bleachers.

The hit had an exit velocity of 112 miles per hour ... and unfortunately, one young fan felt every bit of it -- taking the ball off his forehead as a handful of spectators tried to catch it.

Bradon Nimmo fainted in his bathroom and suffered a gnarly head wound early Monday morning ... but, thankfully, the Mets outfielder says he's going to be OK -- even though he's going to miss some playing time.

The 31-year-old says the scary spill happened in his hotel room at around 5:15 AM -- after he woke up with an upset stomach.

Nimmo, sporting a small bandage on his forehead, told media members just before New York's game against the Washington Nationals on Monday night that at some point, however, he blacked out, hit his forehead on something ... and woke up bleeding.

Orlando Cepeda -- a Baseball Hall of Famer and teammate of the late Willie Mays -- has died ... according to statements from his family and MLB.

The Giants legend passed away at his home Friday according to his wife, Nydia, while surrounded by family and listening to his favorite music. She says the family takes comfort he's now at peace.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred remembered Orlando for his on-field accomplishments ... as well as his role as one of the first Latin American players in the game who paved the way for more inclusion in baseball during the 1960s.

If you're wondering why there will be a bunch Pirates fans suddenly rockin' Paul Skenes and Jared Jones '24 shirts at PNC Park next month ... it's no doubt in part due to Livvy Dunne, who's made the tee a must-have item after wearing it to a game last weekend.

The LSU star gymnast -- who's Skenes' girlfriend -- sported the shirt while at Paul's big June 23 matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays ... and the folks who created it, Baseball Dugout LLC, tell TMZ Sports sales of the garment have exploded since.

We're told that after Dunne showed off the black and gold 'fit on her social media pages ... there was about a 1,400 percent increase in sales!

A baseball fan who went to the College World Series is slamming ESPN for turning cameras on her while she ate ice cream -- because the shot's gone so viral, she's being compared to the "Hawk Tuah" girl.

In case you missed it ... during Monday's national championship baseball game, ESPN cameras zoomed in on 2 women in the stands quickly licking ice cream, racing to finish before it melted in 93-degree heat.

The video spread across social media like wildfire ... with folks leaving some explicit comments about the young women, including lots of "Hawk Tuah" references.

"Hawk Tuah" officially made its way into the MLB on Wednesday night ... when during a broadcast of the Braves vs. Cardinals game, an announcer actually said the now-viral phrase live on-air!

It all happened during the second inning of the team's doubleheader at Busch Stadium ... when Atlanta's announcers were talking about some saliva Alec Burleson had just leaked from his mouth.

The guys noted the St. Louis outfielder didn't quite clear his shoulder with his spit while at home plate -- and they went on to have a spirited convo about it.

A Los Angeles Dodgers bat boy might be in need of a raise ... as the guy snagged a baseball just before it hit the team's biggest superstar -- Shohei Ohtani!!!

Check out the crazy video ... just as Shohei was waiting to hit the on-deck circle during Los Angeles' game against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday evening, a baseball came flying into the dugout.

While Ohtani and others had the normal reaction to duck ... the bat boy stood in front of the designated hitter, and caught the bullet of a baseball with his bare hands before it did some serious damage.

MLB star Hunter Greene uncorked a fastball on Tuesday night ... and then he unloaded the contents of his stomach -- vomiting all over the mound right in the middle of the Reds' game.

The nasty moment happened just minutes after the ace took the bump for Cincinnati's tilt with the Pirates at Great American Ball Park.

Greene walked the first batter he faced, and then in the ensuing at-bat, he threw up everywhere after making a pitch.

If you thought Pittsburgh was already known for its scenic views, check this out ... Olivia Dunne is enjoying time away from competing, getting some quality R&R with her baseball star boyfriend!

The LSU gymnast took to Instagram Sunday night to share some snaps from her day on the water in Pittsburgh with her man, Pittsburgh Pirates flamethrower, Paul Skenes.

Dunne rocked a green two-piece bikini ... while 22-year-old Skenes wore shorts and a t-shirt. From one look at the pics, the couple is very much in love!

Major League Baseball will go silent Wednesday night -- at least for a few moments -- as all thirty teams will hold a moment of silence following the death of one of the greatest players of all time, Willie Mays.

Mays, arguably the greatest player ever, died Tuesday at the age of 93.

TMZ Sports has learned MLB quickly put a plan together ... all 15 of today's games won't start before the tens of thousands in attendance have a moment to remember the 24x All-Star.

Marlins reporter Jessica Blaylock was simply trying to do her job when she was met with a bucket full of liquid on Tuesday ... and it was all at the hands of MLB star Jazz Chisholm Jr., who took great pride in dousing the journalist during a postgame interview.

The moment went down shortly after Miami secured a rare home win over the St. Louis Cardinals in extra innings ... when Blaylock was interviewing the hero of the game, Vidal Brujan, who hit a walk-off single.

As Brujan was in the middle of answering one of Blaylock's questions, Chisholm crept up from behind and unloaded an entire cooler right on the Bally Sports talent ... apparently not even trying to hit his teammate.

Orioles star Adley Rutschman needed a little help from trainers to stay in his game Tuesday night ... after he was badly bloodied following a head-first slide.

The painful play went down just minutes into Baltimore's tilt with the Yankees ... when Rutschman was trying to avoid being picked off at second base.

Nestor Cortes attempted to throw him out as he strayed a little too far from the bag -- but in his hurry to retreat back, Rutschman accidentally faceplanted.

Willie Mays, one of the greatest baseball players to ever step foot on a baseball diamond, died at 93, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday evening.

Mays had been living in an assisted living facility in the Palo Alto, CA area, according to the Giants.

"The Say Hey Kid" was 24x MLB All-Star, 12x Gold Glove winner, Rookie of the Year, and 2x NL MVP who patrolled the massive Polo Grounds center field for the New York Giants before the team relocated to San Francisco in the late-50s.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the new front-runner for the best bobblehead of the year ... as the team just announced the next Shohei Ohtani giveaway will feature his adorable pup, Decoy!!!

The team showed off the August 28 promotional item in an email sent out to fans on Tuesday ... which features Ohtani cradling Decoy in his left arm with a massive smile on his face.

It will mark the second bobblehead giveaway for the Dodgers superstar this season ... and his first one was a huge success. Over 50,000 fans filled Dodger Stadium for the matchup with the Cincinnati Reds last month -- marking the biggest attendance at a Dodgers game since September 2019!!

It was a rough day to be a White Sox supporter on Sunday ... 'cause as the MLB team got smacked by the Diamondbacks -- one of their fans got leveled during a fight in a festival pit too.

The crazy scrap happened at SeatGeek Stadium in Illinois during Summer Smash -- a three-day show headlined by Travis Scott, Playboi Carti and Chief Keef.

In video from the scene, you can see a young Sox fan in a grey Chicago jersey got into a tiff with a man in a pink shirt who had been situated on another side of a barricade.