Piscotty hits homer in return

BOSTON — Stephen Piscotty crushed an 0-2 pitch from Eduardo Rodriguez over the green monster that landed on Lansdowne Street, completely out of Fenway Park. As he approached home plate after rounding the bases, he patted his chest three times and looked up toward the sky — it was as if Gretchen was watching.

Piscotty arrived to the A’s clubhouse Tuesday afternoon after spending the past four days with his family following the death of his mother, Gretchen, a Del Norte and University of New Mexico graduate. She died May 6 after a long battle with ALS. Her funeral services were held Monday in Livermore.

It was his first at-bat off the bereavement list and third home run of the season, coming in the second inning to extend Oakland’s lead to 3-0 at the time in an eventual 5-2 victory Tuesday night. Piscotty finished 1 for 4 on the night.

Piscotty returned to the A’s lineup last Tuesday, just two days after his mother’s passing, and singled in his first at-bat that night. The following day, he explained the significance behind the patting of his chest.

“The hand over my heart, that’s something my mom would do when she wasn’t able to speak,” Piscotty said. “This was just, ‘I love you and thank you.’ That’s what I did in the box and that’s kind of her way of saying. I’m going to keep that with me.”

A’s starter Daniel Mengden kept a dangerous Red Sox lineup in check as he allowed just two runs, one earned, on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts over six innings of work.