Dave Parker, hard-hitting Hall of Famer, dies at 74

The A’s Dave Henderson (42) greets teammate Dave Parker (39) after Parker hit a home run against the Giants in Game 1 of the 1989 World Series in Oakland. LENNY IGNELZI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, FILE

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PITTSBURGH >> 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.

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 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.

Parker was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012.

Pro basketball

Cavs acquiring Ball from Bulls for Okoro >> The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to acquire guard Lonzo Ball from the Chicago Bulls for forward Isaac Okoro. The trade can not be finalized until the start of the new league year on July 6.

Ball averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 35 games this past season after missing the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns because of a left knee injury.

Okoro averaged 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds this past season and is a strong defender who can also shoot well from the perimeter.

Golf

Potgieter leads at Rocket Classic >> Aldrich Potgieter, the PGA Tour’s youngest player and its biggest hitter, had five straight birdies to surge into the third-round lead and finished with a 7-under 65 for a two-shot edge.

Max Greyserman (66), Jake Knapp (66), Mark Hubbard (67), Andrew Putnam (67) and Chris Kirk (69) were two shots back. Three more players were another stroke behind.

LPGA’s Schmezel and Valenzuela take lead at Dow Championship >> Sarah Schmelzel and Albane Valenzuela took the third-round lead in the Dow Championship, shooting a 2-under 68 in alternate-shot play to move into position for their first LPGA Tour victories.

Schmelzel and Valenzuela had a 13-under 197 total at Midland Country Cup heading into the better-ball final round. They opened with an alternate-shot 68 on Thursday and had a best-ball 61 on Friday.

The teams of Jin Hee Im-Somi Lee (68) and Manon De Roey-Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (69) were a stroke back.

Three-Way tie for lead at Senior Open >> Padraig Harrington chipped in from 20 yards off the green on the 18th hole to salvage a floundering round and pull back into a tie for the lead with Stewart Cink and Mark Hensby at the U.S. Senior Open.

Reed leads at LIV Dallas >> Patrick Reed shot a 4-under 68 to take a three-stroke lead at LIV Golf Dallas in a bid for his first victory on the Saudi-funded tour.

Tied for the first-round lead with 4Aces teammate Harold Varner III after an opening 67, Reed had six birdies and two bogeys to reach 9-under 135 at Maridoe Golf Club.

Soccer

Club world cup >> Paulinho worked his way between a pair of defenders and rolled a shot into the back of the net in extra time to put Palmeiras into the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Brazilian league rival Botafogo.

Botafogo created multiple chances for an equalizer in the final minutes but couldn’t get a goal.

• Christopher Nkunku scored off a rebound in extra time and Chelsea went on to beat Benfica 4-1 in a Club World Cup Round of 16 match at Bank of America Stadium that was delayed for two hours due to lightning and took nearly five hours to complete.

Chelsea advances to play Palmeiras in the quarterfinals Friday in Philadelphia.

Pogba signs with Monaco >> Former France midfielder Paul Pogba joined Monaco on a two-year contract in a bid to relaunch a stellar career derailed by injuries and a doping ban.

The former Juventus and Manchester United player will play in the French top flight for the first time.

Tennis

Pegula wins Bad Homburg open >> Top-seeded Jessica Pegula beat five-time major champion Iga Swiatek 6-4, 7-5 to win the grass-court Bad Homburg Open, extending Swiatek’s year-long title drought.

Pegula clinched her third title of 2025 — with the others in Austin, Texas, and Charleston, South Carolina — and it was the ninth title of the 31-year-old American’s career.

Swiatek was seeded fourth at the WTA 500 tournament in Germany, where the 24-year-old Pole sought her first trophy since the 2024 French Open and a 23rd overall.