PANTHERS SELL FOR $2.2B
Jets to visit with ex-Saint safety Vaccaro
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 at Fenway.
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.
l Red Sox pitcher Carson Smith dislocated his pitching shoulder during a tantrum and went on the 10-day disabled list, an injury Boston said could be major. The 28-year-old right-hander was hurt when he threw his glove in the dugout after leaving Monday night’s 6-5 loss to Oakland. He entered with the Red Sox trailing 5-4 in the eighth, allowed Khris Davis’ leadoff home run, then retired three straight batters. Brian Johnson relieved to start the ninth.
l Right-hander Jordan Lyles came within five outs of the first perfect game in San Diego Padres history before allowing a single to Trevor Story in a 4-0 victory against the visiting Rockies. Lyles (1-1), who moved into the rotation last week, retired the first 22 Rockies batters before Story’s single with one out in the eighth inning landed just in front of left fielder Franchy Cordero.
l Arizona’s already sputtering offense has taken a severe hit: center fielder A.J. Pollock is expected to miss 4-to-8 weeks with a broken left thumb.
Pollock was injured diving unsuccessfully for Tyler Saladino’s line drive that turned into an insidethe-park home run in the ninth inning of Monday’s 7-2 loss to Milwaukee.
The 30-year-old Pollock leads the team with a .293 average, 11 home runs and 33 RBI. He was an All-Star in 2015 but has not played more than 112 games in a season since because of injuries. The Carolina Panthers are being sold for an
The Jets have scheduled a visit with free-agent safety Kenny Vaccaro this week, according to a source. The talented, but oft-injured Vaccaro played 12 games for the Saints last season before he was placed on injured reserve with groin and wrist injuries that NFL-record $2.2 billion.
Hedge fund manager David Tepper has agreed to buy the Panthers from team founder Jerry Richardson, two people familiar with the situation said Tuesday. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team has not yet announced the sale.
Richardson announced in December he was selling the team amid an NFL investigation into sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace. That decision came after a report by Sports Illustrated detailing Richardson’s alleged misconduct. The league’s investigation into the allegations is still ongoing. The price tag is the most ever paid for an NFL franchise, eclipsing the $1.4 billion the Pegula family paid to purchase the Buffalo Bills in 2014.
Doug Ford, the oldest surviving Masters champion and a former PGA player of the year, has died. He was 95. The PGA Tour announced Ford’s death, saying Ford’s family informed the tour that he died Monday night. Details of his death were not immediately available. Ford was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.
He won the 1955 PGA Championship, and then two years later won the Masters when he shot 66 in the final round to rally from a three-shot deficit to Sam Snead. He collected the first of his 19 tour victories in 1952, and his last win was in 1963. ultimately required surgeries.
The 27-year-old Vaccaro, the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft, has eight career interceptions, 30 pass breakups and 385 tackles in five seasons with the Saints. He’s also visited the Dolphins and Colts in what has been a slow-developing safety market this offseason. Vaccaro would provide insurance for a Jets secondary that includes Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye. He could also be an interesting piece in Gang Green’s three-safety packages. — Manish Mehta