Marcus Semien and Stephen Piscotty high-five. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Sometimes life is bigger than sports, and baseball fans were reminded of that last night during the Red Sox' 5-3 loss to the Athletics.
Stephen Piscotty's mother Gretchen tragically passed away 10 days ago after a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease, so the A's outfielder took some time, then returned to the lineup at Fenway and homered off Eduardo Rodriguez in his very first at-bat.
What did that feel like?
"Pure joy," he said. "It's been an emotional week, and I've been a little cried out, so I didn't tear up or anything. It just felt real good. My whole family was watching and my mom was watching. It was pure joy."
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He touched his heart with his right hand and looked up as he crossed the plate. What was that gesture for?
"I came around third, and I just immediately started thinking about my mom," he said. "I kinda put my hand over my chest like she would do, and that's kinda gonna be my thing, I think, coming forward."
Piscotty's teammates embraced him when he got to the dugout, almost as if he'd hit a walk-off homer rather than a solo shot in the second.
The Bay Area native was dealt to the A's in the offseason so he could be with his mother during her fight with ALS.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman reports