Emotional Homer for Piscotty Helps A's Beat Red Sox
BOSTON (AP) -- Stephen Piscotty homered in his first at-bat after being reinstated from the bereavement list and saluted his late mother as he crossed home plate, helping lead the Oakland Athletics to a 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night in a game delayed almost two hours because of weather.
Piscotty, who returned to the A's Tuesday after missing four games to be with his family, drove an 0-2 pitch from Eduardo Rodriguez out to left in the second inning.
He slowly made his way around the bases, then after rounding third placed his right hand over his heart and patted it with a glance to the sky in tribute to Gretchen Piscotty, who died May 6 after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
Piscotty's third homer of the season was his only hit of the night and put the A's up 3-0. Matt Chapman and Mark Canha had two RBIs apiece for the A's, who took the first two games of the series against the struggling Red Sox.
Andrew Benintendi homered for Boston and Mitch Moreland finished with a pair of doubles for the Red Sox.
Daniel Mengden (3-4) pitched six solid innings for Oakland, scattering eight hits and holding Boston to two runs — one earned — and struck out three. Blake Treinen finished it off for his eighth save of the season.
Eduardo Rodriguez (3-1) took his first loss of the season after getting roughed up in the first few innings. Oakland had six hits through the first three innings, starting with back-to-back singles by Marcus Semien and Chad Pinder to start the game. Both scored on a double by Chapman, who drove a pitch from Rodriguez over the head of Mookie Betts in right field.
Benintendi's solo homer in the fifth pulled Boston back within 3-2, but the A's tacked on a pair of runs in the eighth.
The game was scheduled to begin at 7:10 p.m., but didn't get under way until 8:52 p.m. because of heavy rain and lightning.
TRAINER'S ROOM
A's: To make room on the roster for Piscotty, Oakland optioned RHP Kendall Graveman to Triple-A Nashville.
Red Sox: Placed RHP Carson Smith on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday with a dislocated pitching shoulder, which he injured during a tantrum Monday night. Smith was upset after Khris Davis led off the eighth inning with a home run to put Oakland up 6-4. ... The Red Sox also recalled LHP Bobby Poyner from Triple-A Pawtucket.
UP NEXT
A's: RHP Trevor Cahill (1-1, 2.25 ERA) is expected to get the start after being reinstated from the 10-day disabled list with an impingement in his pitching elbow.
Red Sox: LHP Chris Sale (3-1, 2.17) is coming off a no-decision despite tying a career high with 15 strikeouts while pitching nine innings Friday at Toronto.
© Copyright 2018 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
