Stephen Piscotty simply put his hand on his heart, tapped it a few times, and looked up to the sky in salute to his late mother.
The Oakland Athletics’ right fielder hit a solo home run in his first at-bat following his return to the team after being on bereavement leave. The 27-year-old flew cross-country to be with Oakland in Boston at Fenway Park, following the death of his mom, Gretchen, to Lou Gehrig’s Disease on May 6 at the age of 55.
His home run helped lift the A’s to a 5-3 win over the Red Sox.
“It was pure joy. It’s been an emotional week,” said Piscotty. “Coming around third, I just immediately started thinking about my mom and kind of put my hand over my chest like she would do.”
RELATED: Gretchen Piscotty, mother of Oakland’s Stephen Piscotty, passes away at 55
The A’s continue their series against the Red Sox on Wednesday night. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. ET.
