Stephen Piscotty hit a home run on his return after the death of his mother, who suffered from ALS. The Outfielder helped his Oakland Athletics (21-21) to his second consecutive victory in the Boston Red Sox (28-14).
It was the emotional climax of the game: In the third inning Piscotty came to the record for the first time and beat a solo homer for Oakland 3-0. He held his right hand on his heart as he crossed the Home Plate and looked up into the sky.
“It felt really good to be back on the field. It’s been a very long week,” Piscotty told NBC Sports California. “I’ve had a few tearful days. But today is a day to celebrate a victory.” He described his trip around the bases as follows: “It was quite emotional. I had a pretty good cry, so I didn’t have tears in my eyes or anything. It felt so good and when I crossed third base, I immediately thought of my mother.”
Piscotty had been off the team since the death of his mother Gretchen on May 6, who had fought with ALS for years. A disease also known in the USA as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”, named after the legendary First Baseman of the New York Yankeees, who had to end his career prematurely with the disease in 1939 and died two years later.
The A’s were also pleased with a good performance by Starting Pitcher Daniel Mengden, who only allowed two runs (ER) in six innings. In the Red Sox, Andrew Benintendi (3-5) hit a home run. The Sox got a total of ten hits, but they were only 2-12 with “Runners in scoring position”, which ultimately made the difference.
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This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.