Colorado Rockies

Cole Tucker made his first Big League start of the 2023 season on Wednesday and Vanessa Hudgens was there for every second of it ... fangirling out over every pitch her future hubby saw at the dish!!!

Tucker -- who the Rockies called up from the minor leagues on Monday -- made the start for Colorado in the outfield during their game against the Brewers in Milwaukee ... and Hudgens had some sweet seats for it.

The "High School Musical" star was right near the plate ... and when her 27-year-old fiancé came up to bat for the first time, she was smitten.

She got up out of her chair and pulled out her iPhone -- and even though Tucker grounded out to third during the at-bat, she clearly couldn't have cared less.

Tucker, though, ended up playing a solid game despite the first AB ... he went 1-for-4 and nearly scored a key run in the 10th inning of the Rockies' 7-6 loss.

It's safe to expect Hudgens will be in attendance for the rest of Tucker's games this week too ... Colorado's now off to Los Angeles -- a city the actress knows all too well -- for a series with the Dodgers until Sunday.

After that -- a wedding between the two shouldn't be too far away ... you'll recall, the couple got engaged in late 2022, so a ceremony's gotta be right around the corner after the MLB season ends.

Police are on the hunt for a man who tackled the Colorado Rockies' mascot during a game on Monday ... believing he committed an assault with his surprising actions.

The incident happened at some point during the Rockies' game against the Cardinals at Coors Field ... when Dinger, Colorado's purple dinosaur cheerleader, hopped up on a dugout to fire up the crowd.

Suddenly, though, as Dinger was dancing around ... video shot by a fan in the stands shows a man jumped up and took the costumed character to the ground.

The moment initially seemed staged ... but, quickly, it was revealed it was anything but that.

The fan who shot the video suspected the man was inebriated ... writing in a caption on the video, "Boooo, drunk guy. [Love] you, Dinger!"

The Denver Police Dept. became aware of the incident shortly after it happened ... and confirmed to TMZ Sports it's now investigating it all as part of an assault case.

"We are working with our partners at the Colorado Rockies to identify the suspect," a DPD spokesperson told us on Thursday morning.

No arrests have been made yet ... but cops are urging anyone with information to reach out to Metro Denver Crime Stoppers.

Rockies star Daniel Bard will open the season on the injured list ... after he said he's been dealing with anxiety following his struggles at the World Baseball Classic.

The Colorado closer was placed on the 15-day IL on Thursday just before his team's game against the San Diego Padres ... and he explained it's all because he's been having mental health issues in March.

Bard didn't say when exactly they started -- but he had trouble all month long finding the strike zone ... particularly in the WBC against Venezuela, when he broke Jose Altuve's thumb with a wild pitch.

Things didn't get much better for Bard when he returned to spring training ... and now, he said he's planning to use his time on the injured list to get mentally right.

He told reporters Thursday that it all was "a hard thing to admit," but he said the Rockies are supporting him.

Bard has dealt with mental health issues in the past -- he was away from the Majors from 2013 to 2020 while battling the yips on the mound -- but he got through them and became a star for the Rockies the past two seasons ... logging 54 saves.

Vanessa Hudgens and her MLB player boyfriend, Cole Tucker, have just taken their relationship to a whole 'nother level ... TMZ Sports has learned they're engaged!!!

A source close to the two tells us ... Tucker popped the question sometime at the end of 2022.

It's unclear when exactly the question was popped ... but the couple was in Paris in November -- a lovely place for a potential engagement to go down.

The "High School Musical" star and the Colorado Rockies utility man have been dating since 2020 -- and have been nearly inseparable since they initially became romantic.

Vanessa's been spotted at a ton of his baseball games over the past couple years -- and in Tucker's offseason, he's spent nearly all of his free time with the actress.

Just a few days ago, Hudgens proclaimed her love for the baseball player in a mushy social media post, writing, "I’ll stop the world and melt with you ❤️🥰."

Tucker's written similar messages to Hudgens on his Instagram too.

It was quite a 2022 for Tucker ... he started the year as a Pittsburgh Pirate before moving on to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He ultimately signed as a free agent with the Rockies this offseason -- meaning he and Vanessa are now going to be spending a whole lot of time together in Denver in 2023.

Major League Baseball reporter Kelsey Wingert was drilled in the face by a line drive earlier this week ... and in a new photo she posted on Wednesday, you can see the ball did some serious damage to her forehead.

The incident happened during the ninth inning of the Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants game in Denver on Monday ... when Austin Slater belted a foul ball into the Rockies' dugout area.

The 95 MPH shot made a beeline right at Wingert, a Rockies reporter, and, unfortunately, she wasn't able to move out of the way.

The aftermath of the strike was caught on video -- and you can hear in the clip, one TV broadcaster was very concerned and asked, "Kelsey, you okay?"

Wingert was able to walk out of the dugout and did give a thumbs up ... but in an update on Wednesday, she revealed the strike caused a gnarly injury.

The 29-year-old said she had to spend five hours at a local hospital and needed several stitches to close the wound. She added that she required a CT scan as well.

Thankfully, Wingert said the testing went well and she's now doing OK -- and thanked the Rockies and her colleagues for all of the support in the wake of the incident.

"I've never experienced support like this," she said. "Thank you for the prayers."

A man in a Colorado Rockies hat punched several women in the face in a crazy altercation outside of Coors Field over the weekend ... and TMZ Sports has obtained video of the brutality.

The incident went down shortly after the Rockies vs. Dodgers game in Denver on Friday -- just a few blocks away from the stadium -- when a man jumped into an altercation between women who appeared to be feuding with each other.

You can see in the footage, as several of the women were fighting -- the man stepped in and began unloading haymakers.

The guy punched several of the women in the face -- with one blow landing so flush, it appeared to knock one of the females out.

Later in the fight, the man punched another woman in the face while she was on the ground.

A police officer showed up and appeared to break up the scuffle, though it's unclear if any arrests were made. We've reached out to cops for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Lewis Brinson says it's time to retire "Dinger" -- or at least change the Rockies mascot's name -- explaining the Colorado character's moniker is just too similar to the n-word.

The Miami Marlins outfielder spoke in-depth with reporters on Monday for the first time since Sunday's drama in Denver ... and it seems his solution to the issues that were created at Coors Field would be for the Rockies to just move on from the mascot's current name.

"Maybe change the mascot's name," Brinson said. "It sounds a little similar, especially on video."

If you missed it ... many believed a fan behind home plate repeatedly called Brinson the n-word during one of his at-bats in Sunday's Marlins vs. Rockies tilt.

Both teams' broadcasts picked up the audio ... and it seemed BAD.

After an investigation, though, the Rockies said they confirmed the fan did NOT say the n-word ... but was rather screaming out for the team's mascot, Dinger.

Brinson was asked about all of that before his game against the Padres on Monday ... and it appears he isn't necessarily buying that explanation.

Brinson told reporters when he watched back the video, the n-word seems clear to him.

"So I watched the video at least 50 times in the past 15-16 hours," Brinson said. "I watched it a lot, especially when I heard that he said 'Dinger' instead of the n-word.''

"I personally -- this is, again, my personal opinion -- I personally keep hearing the n-word. It's not that I want to hear it, I never want to hear it."

But, Brinson did add, "If he was yelling for the mascot, I am sorry for any backlash or any unnecessary attention he's getting right now."

The Rockies have said there is no punishment coming for the fan. They've also added they have no plans to change their mascot's name.

The fan accused of hurling the n-word during Sunday's Rockies game might've gotten a raw deal -- because upon further review ... it appears he was screaming to the team's mascot, Dinger.

A new video has surfaced, and showing the fan in question sitting behind home plate, and apparently waving/screaming to the mascot ... Dinger the dinosaur who was across the way. Notice how the dude waves and where he's looking.

And, as you listen ... it does, indeed, sound like he could've been saying "Dinger!" ... instead of the n-word. Some still aren't convinced though -- saying they can't quite hear the "d" sound -- but in our minds ... this context pretty much clears it up, and clears the man's name.

Frankly, someone would've pointed him out in the moment if he had, in fact, said the n-word. That kinda explains why the Rockies said they hadn't located the dude after the fact.

While the team came out and fully condemned what most people thought they'd heard at first, it now appears it's perhaps much ado about nothing. Understandable that the confusion arose in the first place, however ... because during the broadcast, it DID sound bad.

As we reported ... the alleged slur was heard toward the end of the game, when Marlins OF Lewis Brinson was at-bat at the top of the 9th -- having taken ball 2 and already clocking a couple hits in the game. He did appear to turn around and acknowledge the yelling.

Anyway, good to know where the team and the media members who cover the team stand on the issue -- namely, against racism and racist rhetoric -- which is encouraging to hear. But, with that said ... maybe it's time to consider a new face/name for the franchise in light of this.

Dinger might be just a little too close to something else, it appears.

Miami Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson was subjected to racist venom during his final at-bat during Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies ... being called the n-word by a fan.

Brinson was at the plate at the top of the 9th with the Rockies ahead of the Marlins by quite a bit, and with one out logged ... he stepped up to take a hack. After taking a second ball, somebody in the stands started unabashedly hurling the slur as loud as they could.

The man's words were picked up by a mic ... and you can clearly hear him saying it over and over again, seemingly in Brinson's direction -- as the guy turned around to look himself.

It's unclear if the fan was found and punished for the reprehensible language ... as neither the Rockies nor Coors Field seem to have addressed the situation just yet. Beat reporters and broadcasters who were watching/covering the game, however, have spoken out.

All of them are calling for the same thing ... for the fan to be ID'd and banned for life for using such language. As the Marlins play-by-play man Paul Severino put it ... "The level of hate that was displayed has no place in this world. Unfortunately, it's still far too prevalent. We need to be better. And soon. Awful." The sentiment was similar among the others, too.

Brinson, for his part, had been playing pretty well this series -- getting 2 hits Sunday and 3 on Saturday ... so he was giving the Rockies problems. Still, for someone to stoop to this ... it's despicable.

One other weird thing ... the MLB App isn't allowing one to watch the Rockies/Marlins game at the moment -- even though it's already over. It might still be getting archived at the moment, but it's also possible the league is scrubbing/censoring today's game in light of what happened.

Scary moment on the MLB diamond Tuesday night ... umpire Kerwin Danley was hit in the face by a foul ball -- and appeared to be knocked out cold behind home plate.

The tense moments all went down in the 6th inning of the Giants vs. Rockies game in San Francisco ... when Sam Hilliard foul-tipped a pitch right into Danley's facemask.

You can see in footage from the broadcast of the game, Danley immediately fell backward and laid motionless for several seconds.

Really scary moment.

Trainers rushed to tend to the 59-year-old ... and, fortunately, he was able to get up minutes later and leave the field under his own power.

The Giants said after the game that Danley was "doing well" ... though he was experiencing a "slight headache."

This is not the first time Danley -- who's had a history of concussions -- has had a scare behind home plate ... back in 2008, he was hit in the jaw by a fastball, and a year later, he was hit in the head by a broken bat.

Luke Voit is one tough SOB -- he took a baseball to the face this weekend, but temporarily stayed in the game and even ran the bases right afterward.

The Yankees slugger was up to bat Saturday against the Rockies at the bottom of the 4th -- with the Yanks up 6-0 -- and on a 0-2 fastball from pitcher Chad Bettis, which got away from him ... the ball made contact with the front of Voit's face ... grazing his lip and chin.

It looked a lot worse than it ended up being, but geez ... talk about freaky. Miraculously, Voit avoided a serious injury and took his place at first ... no big pause or anything either.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone rushed out right away to check on his first baseman, and as Voit worked out some kinks in his jaw and wiped off his lip, he seemed to signal that he was okay. A short while later, he got to third on another hit ... and appeared fine doing it.

Still, the ball definitely connected with Voit's face and it's quite a sight to behold in slow-motion. You can see his face jiggle and vibrate as the ball slides across his mug.

Here's one of the coolest stories of the weekend ... the 13-year-old umpire who was caught in a violent youth baseball brawl last month got VIP treatment at the Rockies game Sunday!!

Josh Cordova was the one officiating a game involving 7-year-old kids on June 15 in Lakewood, Colorado ... when parents began hounding him over rules and other parents' actions.

Eventually, a massive fight broke out because of the arguments ... with Cordova calling the whole incident, "scary."

When MLB ump Chris Guccione got word of Cordova's unfortunate involvement in the brawl ... he decided he had to help lift the kid's spirits -- so he invited Josh and his fam to the Rockies game!!

Cordova got the whole VIP experience ... he hung out in the Coors Field locker room and even took part in pre-game lineup talks on the diamond.

In fact, Guccione even gave Cordova his MLB jersey and chest protector ... which Josh says he's going to use right away for his next game!!

"I thought it was a perfect opportunity to reach out to Josh, and not only to him, but his family, and to say to him, 'I'm proud of you, and I'm rooting for you, and what you did is the right thing,'" Guccione told reporters before the game.

"I'm super happy for him, and I wanted to encourage him to keep going forward."

Colorado Rockies stud pitcher Jon Gray says he's nervous about the possibility of free agency in a couple years ... saying the drama that Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel just went through has him shaken up.

"There's been a lot of trouble with guys finding jobs, even though regardless of the situation and how talented they are," Gray tells TMZ Sports.

"It's kind of strange seeing something like that happen."

Of course, despite being two of the best pitchers in all of baseball .. Keuchel and Kimbrel remained unsigned until just a few days ago -- when the Braves and Cubs finally gave in.

That whole ordeal has 27-year-old Gray concerned ... 'cause the pitcher tells us he's starting to get an uneasy feeling about the possibility of his free agency future in 2022.

"There's so many unknowns," Gray says.

The Rockies were the WORST houseguests Tuesday night ... 'cause after they booted the Cubs from the playoffs -- they SOAKED their Wrigley Field locker room in bubbly and beer!!!

Colorado scored in the top of the 13th in the NL Wild Card game and slammed the door on Chicago in the bottom of the frame ... and then it was time for champagne and Budweiser.

The team sprayed down the whole locker room -- although they were at least kind enough to put up the tarps beforehand.

There was an MVP chant for Charlie Blackmon ... Nolan Arenado made sure to bring the tunes ... and Tony Wolters (dude with the game-winning RBI) had a great dance. Good times were had by all.

It's the Brewers up next for the Rockies in the NLDS. Series starts Thursday.

Todd's wife Christy tells TMZ ... they had no idea the Rockies would be gifting him a horse during his send off -- but it's not a problem ... cause they just happen to have a 4,000 acre ranch (perks of earning more than $160 million).

We're told the horse -- named A Tru Bustamove -- is worth $45,000 and the Heltons already have a nickname for him ... "Busta."

Woo ha! Woo ha!!