Athletics' Billy Burns leaves game with 'testicular contusion' (VIDEO)

Oakland Athletics outfielder Billy Burns left Friday's game against the San Francisco Giants with what was officially called a testicular contusion.

That's a black-and-blue nut to all us laymen.

Leading off the fifth inning, Burns went down quickly after the Jake Peavy pitch below bounced off of the ground and hit him in the groin.

Billy Burns left tonight's game with a "testicular contusion" https://t.co/tELvEBkVAu

— Justin Symons (@j_symons) July 25, 2015

Ouch. That hurts.

Foul tip nails A's Billy Burns in a very bad spot http://t.co/EYUdylvvQr pic.twitter.com/GSHSPFwpB3

— Sporting News MLB (@SN_Baseball) July 25, 2015

Despite the obvious pain, Burns managed to finish his at-bat before getting replaced by Mark Canha in the fourth inning.

Get the ice bag.

Fan catches flying bat, gets a kiss as a reward (VIDEO)

There have already been some scary incidents with flying bats at MLB ballparks this season. So when San Francisco Giants pitcher Jake Peavy lost his grip and sent his bat hurtling into the stands at a rainy Nationals Park, everyone held their collective breaths.

Not to worry because this fan made a smooth, nonchalant grab of this wood missile and saved the day.

The alert hero even got a kiss from from the damsel next to him.

Catching a bat > catching a ball. http://t.co/oQgNOjz9uq pic.twitter.com/dNtdOmyWyc

— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) July 3, 2015

Just a reminder to everyone sitting around the home plate line of fire — keep your eyes on the game and not your tweets.

Giants’ Chris Heston’s pitch is just a bit down and out (VIDEO)

San Francisco Giants starter Chris Heston, who's filling in for the injured Matt Cain, had a pretty good game against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. The rookie went six solid innings with no earned runs and just three hits and two walks. 

Most of his pitches were in and around the strike zone. But this one to Paul Goldschmidt  — not so much. 

Heston was OK and laughed it off. And, as the announcer says, could always blame it on his new shoes.

Teammates rip jersey from Kolten Wong's back after Game 2 walk-off (PHOTO)

The Cardinals won Game 2 of the NLCS on Kolten Wong's walk-off home run Sunday night against the Giants, and, during the celebration, Wong' teammates literally ripped the jersey off his back.

Here's the evidence:

Kolten Wong's two part jersey following his walk off HR tonight in GM 2. Both authenticated #Postseason #Cardinals pic.twitter.com/XcLRfujm8f
— MLB Authenticator (@MLB_Authentic) October 13, 2014

And here's the video proof:

Old woman wanders into Giants dugout during NL wild-card game (VIDEO)

Somehow an elderly lady managed to find her way into the Giants dugout in the second inning of the NL wild-card game Wednesday night.

While the confused old woman's stroll among the players baffled a lot of people who saw it on their TV screens, the cop guarding the bench was stupefied:

And is that a Giant Eagle shopping list in her hands?

"Where's the creamed corn young fella?"

Hunter Pence's postgame speech rallies Giants fans (VIDEO)

If you don't believe the San Francisco Giants team has what it takes to get to the World Series well ... then you have no faith in Hunter Pence.

The Voice of the Giants addressed the home crowd after the final game of the regular season at AT&T Park, rallying them for the playoffs. And did it in his own inimitable style.

Pence led the crowd in the “Yes!” cheer that became so popular earlier this year when Pence and his teammates were hitting home runs with some regularity.

Although his energetic pep talk started slow and awkward, it did build up to an inspiring crescendo:

The Giants may be seeing a lot of "No" when they head into their NL Wild Card Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates — especially on the road.

Pence's team will be facing the proverbial "hot team that nobody wants to face." The Pirates won 17 of their final 23 games to slide past the Giants for the top wild-card spot.

Giants rookie hits first homer, gets ball back with adorable message on it (PHOTO)

Giants rookie Chris Dominguez connected on his first major league hit of his career on Sunday — and it was a towering home run no less.

Getting the prized memento back to stash on his trophy case seemed like a long shot until the little girl who ended up with it returned the ball with with a nice back story and adorable congratulatory note scrawled over the hide.

It seems the little girl had already presented the ball to her sister as a birthday present before they realized it actually meant more to Dominguez. So the girls re-gifted the ball to Dominguez with these words already on it:

"Happy Birthday / Love M" was scrawled on one side of the ball. On the other, somebody had traced the shape of a heart and wrote, "Congratulations Estella."

The rookie was nonplussed about the marked ball.

"That's all right," he said. "It's a good memory."

Mets fans razz Hunter Pence with creative signs (VIDEO)

The Giants pounded the Mets 9-0 on Sunday afternoon, thanks in large part to Hunter Pence's two home runs and four RBIS. The Giants rightfielder hit a two-run shot in the third, a solo shot in the ninth and added an RBI double as well.

So the Citi Field fans directed some of their frustration at the Giants' slugger with some creative signage all afternoon.

San Franciscans may not make sense of the implied disses, but New Yorkers know these acts are just plain sinful.

Here's the 2-0 razzing:

The 4-0 gem:

And the 6-0 finale:

Fan breaks arm falling from Party City Deck at Citi Field: Report

A fan broke his arm when he fell over a railing above an outfield wall before the Mets-Giants game at Citi Field Saturday.

The fan, identified as Nick Gambacorta, was standing in the area called the Party City Deck over an 8-foot wall when he leaned over the railing and fell. Gambacorta was reportedly trying to get the attention of a Giants player who had just caught a flyball.

“It just looked like he was reaching for something and then just fell over,” Giants pitcher Matt Cain said. “I don’t know if it was for a foul ball or what.”

Gambacorta’s arm was “terribly” bloody, said Cain, and he saw bone protruding through skin.

A witness said Gambacorta — who was on outing with local bus operators, supervisors and their families — tried stopping his fall by grabbing the railing with his right hand as he went over the waist-high railing. The twisting motion seemed to break his arm.

Security and medical staff attended to the injured man on the warning track in left field. They placed him on a backboard then put him on a stretcher before wheeling him though a gate in the left-field wall.

The Mets released a statement saying a fan fell from the stands and was taken to a hospital. The team didn't provide additional details.

Jordy Mercer's home run obliterates woman's beer (VIDEO)

Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer smacked a two-run homer into the left field stands during Wednesday's game against the Giants. When fans saw it coming, they put on their gloves and reached for the ball. 

But one woman in the front row wasn't ready for the onslaught:

It was bad enough that Mercer's two-run shot gave the Pirates a 5-4 lead but wasting the woman's full cup of beer on a nice San Francisco day? That's unforgivable.

Devoted Giants fan shows off gallery of team tattoos (VIDEO)

We've seen plenty of baseball fans who have their their favorite team's greatest triumphs forever inked onto their bodies — and then there's this devoted Giants supporter.

There's no doubting this guy's allegiance to his team after he showed off his tattoos at Marlins Park on Friday.

The fan revealed a gallery of ink work which included pieces to commemorate San Francisco's 2010 and 2012 World Series championships and a very detailed image of two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum in action.

So many great moments, so little body real estate.

Cop snags foul ball, makes sure young Giants fan gets it (VIDEO)

One of SFPD's Finest made a nifty barehanded catch on a foul ball at AT&T Park and was determined to give away the souvenir to a young Giants fan.

The best part? When the cop yanks the ball away from a grabby adult who tried to snatch it as the officer is handing it to a little kid in a panda hat.

But the long arm of the law prevailed.

The nitwit was lucky he wasn't charged with a 10-85: Delay due to stupidity.

Young Giants fan takes spill on ground-rule double (VIDEO)

A young Giants fan takes a spill and injures his knee after a ground-rule double bounces into the right-field stands at AT&T Park Monday night.

After a few tears, his arm goes up clutching the prized souvenir to the cheers of the crowd.

The scrapes will go away — but memories of the catch will still linger.

Pablo Sandoval swings at a pitch already in the catcher's mitt (VIDEO)

Pablo Sandoval was just a little behind this fastball from Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton Tuesday night, taking a wild swing after the ball was already in the catcher's mitt. 

The Kung Fu Panda's  bumbling hack at the ball was, of course, only a split-second reaction to protect baserunner Brandon Belt who was stealing second base on the play.

Sandoval's cartoonish ploy worked. Catcher Tony Sanchez's throw sailed high into center field allowing Belt to race to third.  He eventually scored the Giants only run on a sacrifice fly later in the inning.

Thanks to Cut4 for the Goofy GIF.

Andrew McCutchen has hard time chasing ducks off the field at PNC Park (VIDEO)

Andrew McCutchen is pretty territorial when it comes to his turf out in PNC Park and — when a gaggle of ducks invaded his space Monday night — the Pirates outfielder tried to humanely shoo them away.

It was late and Pittsburgh was clinging to a 10-9 ninth-inning lead over the Giants, so one of the Pirates bullpen catchers had seen enough and came out waving his arms to get rid of the feathered intruders.

It worked.

But it was the Giants who ended up with their own ducks-in-a-row and beat the Pirates, 11-10, in a 13-inning marathon.

Giants fan and Padres fan hug it out after foul ball scramble (VIDEO)

While the Giants were in Petco Park taking on the Padres Friday night, a San Francisco fan made a futile attempt to grab a foul ball.

Unfortunately for him, he missed the ball but luckily fell into the lap of a very pretty lady next to him.

He was okay. But she wound up recovering the sought after souvenir.

At least he ended up with the next best thing — a hug.

Is there a lesson to be learned here or what? 

Giants fans do their best to help 'Baet LA' (PHOTO)

The San Francisco Giants have some of the best fans in baseball, but sometimes even a well intentioned plan to show support can go awry. During a close game against the Dodgers Wednesday night, these fans had a little typo.

It must have seemed like a naet idea, but the unamused men behind them look like they would rather see the spelling-challenged fans get back in their saets.

Spelling is hard. pic.twitter.com/vesrix4129
— Sara (@gidget) April 17, 2014

Minor leaguer recovering from frightening crash into wall (Video)

Darren Ford, a minor-league outfielder for the Fresno Grizzlies, suffered a possible concussion and other injuries Thursday night when he crashed headfirst into the left-field wall while trying to make a catch.

The 28-year-old Ford was injured during the eighth inning of the Grizzlies' 11-4 win over the Salt Lake Bees in the triple-A Pacific Coast League. The Grizzlies are the top minor-league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, the team with which Ford made his major-league debut and earned a 2010 World Series ring.

According to milb.com, Ford was injured while trying to catch a foul ball at Smith's Ballpark. Jackson reported that Ford also suffered a "neck sprain," and that Fresno manager Bob Mariano said Ford was able to move his legs and feet after the frightening collision with the cement wall.

An ambulance and firetruck entered the field, and Ford was removed on a stretcher and taken to a Salt Lake City-area hospital.

Ford is not expected to have long-term problems from his injuries and was released from the hospital and able to fly back to California with the rest of the team.

Madison Bumgarner celebrates grand slam with snot-rocket (VIDEO)

Madison Bumgarner just missed clearing the fences his first time up to bat Friday night, hitting a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left field.

The pitcher left no doubt the second time he faced Colorado Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa, helping his own cause by belting a grand slam into the left-field seats, giving the San Francisco Giants a 6-3 lead.

After a few high-fives from happy teammates, MadBum celebrated the grand salami by sending a snot-rocket across the on-deck circle.

Bumgarner drove in a career-high five runs to overcome a shaky outing on the mound, sending the Giants to a 6-5 victory.

Giants fan muscles her way to souvenir baseball (VIDEO)

Nothing was going to prevent this woman from getting a souvenir baseball during the A's-Giants game at Scottsdale Stadium on Saturday — not a railing, a garbage can or the three men she pushes out of the way.

Way to go mom.