Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays star shortstop Wander Franco has been formally charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor in the Dominican Republic ... for a relationship he allegedly had with a 14-year-old girl.

Franco, who's now 23, has been under investigation by authorities in the D.R. since July 2023 ... after a complaint was filed alleging he had sexual relations with a teenager.

Wander, according to authorities, has also been accused of human trafficking.

The mother of the child is also included in the indictment ... with prosecutors claiming the mother was paid thousands of dollars by Franco to look the other way, and allow the relationship.

Minnesota Twins star Joe Ryan's crotch must've been on fire during Monday's game ... 'cause the pitcher couldn't help but douse his balls in baby powder right in the middle of the dugout -- and it was all caught on camera!!

The hilarious blooper went down during the top of the 7th inning of the Twins' road matchup against the Chicago White Sox ... when the broadcast followed Carlos Correa back to the bench after hitting a home run.

The intention was to capture CC celebrating with his teammates ... but as an added bonus of sorts, the shot went on just a bit too long -- and showed Ryan casually tugging on his waistband and unloading a bunch of powder on his privates as he had a quick chat with the shortstop.

Paul Skenes' first-ever MLB All-Star Game selection came with an extra surprise ... a pizza party courtesy of his loving girlfriend, Olivia Dunne!!

The star LSU gymnast made the trip to Pittsburgh after partying in the Hamptons for the Fourth of July ... and when she found out Skenes was named to The Show's mid-summer classic, she threw him an impromptu bash.

Livvy showed on her TikTok page that she copped some balloons, a bottle of champagne and some 'Za for the fiesta -- and Skenes was clearly loving it all.

Vanessa Hudgens is giving a special shoutout to her man, Cole Tucker, on his 28th birthday ... taking to Instagram to shower her husband with all the love.

"Happy birthday to my slice of heaven @cotuck 🥳," the actress said to the Los Angeles Angels organization's third basemen on Wednesday. "You make the world a brighter place just by being you, ♥️🤟🏽"

As we previously reported, the two lovebirds got married back in December 2023 ... after Tucker popped the question to the actress earlier that year.

The 35-year-old actress and the ball player have been inseparable since they started dating back in 2020 ... and Hudgens -- who is pregnant with their first child -- has made plenty of appearances at Tucker's games to show her support.

Unfortunately for Tucker, he was recently placed on the temporarily inactive list. The reason for this move by the Salt Lake Bees -- the Angels' Triple-A affiliate -- is not known at this time.

It has been an up-and-down season for the utility player. He started spring training with the Seattle Mariners as a non-roster invite before being assigned to their Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainers.

A month later, he was released and picked up by the Angels. He saw some big-league action in late April, but the squad designated him for assignment -- then sent him back to the Bees.

No word on how the happy couple plans to celebrate the day ... but we imagine they will be spending some quality time together.

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.