Dave Parker, a hard-hitting outfielder who was set to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame next month, has died, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced Saturday. He was 74.

No further details about Parker’s death were immediately available. The Pirates informed the crowd of his death just before the start of their game against the New York Mets and held a moment of silence.

Nicknamed “The Cobra,” the 6-foot-5 Parker made his major league debut in 1973 and played 19 seasons, 11 for the Pirates. He was the NL MVP in 1978, won a World Series with Pittsburgh a year later and then won another championship in 1989 with the Oakland Athletics.

Parker won back-to-back batting titles in 1977 and ‘78. He finished his career as a .290 hitter with 339 homers and 1,493 RBIs. He also played for Cincinnati, Milwaukee, the California Angels and Toronto.

Parker was elected to the Hall of Fame by a special committee in December. The induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, is set for July 27.

Ohtani logs fastest pitch of career

Shohei Ohtani threw the fastest pitch of his career at 101.7 mph and worked two efficient innings in his third mound start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing one hit and one walk against the Kansas City Royals.

He allowed a one-out single to Bobby Witt Jr. in the first and walked Maikel Garcia before throwing the 101.7 mph fastball on an 0-2 count to Vinnie Pasquantino, who grounded into a double play.

It was the first start of more than one inning this season for the two-way superstar, who is working as an opener as he eases his way back into pitching.

The three-time MVP did not pitch last season, his first with the Dodgers, while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Ohtani threw first-pitch strikes to all seven batters he faced and finished with 27 pitches, 20 for strikes.

Andrus inducted into Rangers Hall of Fame

Elvis Andrus, the fun-loving skilled shortstop for the franchise’s first two World Series appearances, who became like a pesky little brother to National Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltré in their eight seasons together on the left side of the infield, was inducted as the 27th member of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.

Andrus started 1,605 games at shortstop for Texas over 12 seasons, the most games started at one position for any player in franchise history. He is the franchise leader with 305 stolen bases, and ranks second in total games (1,652), at-bats (6,366), triples (48), and sacrifice hits (100). His 1,743 hits and 893 runs both rank third, and he played at least 145 games in 10 seasons for the Rangers.

Texas went to back-to-back World Series in 2010 and 2011, and Andrus remained with the Rangers until being traded to Oakland at the start of spring training in 2021, but he officially retired as a Ranger last September after signing a ceremonial one-day contract.

Stroman starting today after long stint on IL

Marcus Stroman was activated by the New York Yankees to start on Sunday after missing 2 1/2 months with left knee inflammation.

Stroman has not pitched for the Yankees since allowing five runs in two-thirds of an inning against the San Francisco Giants on April 11 when he threw 46 pitches in a steady rain. He was placed on the 15-day injured list the next day with what Boone hoped at the time would be a short-term absence.

On May 9, Stroman experienced discomfort in his knee after throwing a batting practice session in Tampa, Florida. He did not begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment until June 11.

In three rehab appearances with Double-A Somerset, Stroman was 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA. He made his final rehab start on Wednesday and allowed five runs, 10 hits and two walks over 3 2/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers’ Erie Seawolves of the Eastern League.