A’s Will Need To ‘Outslug’ Visiting Teams At West Sacramento Stadium; Final Tuesday: Athletics 10 Padres 4
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
WEST SACRAMENTO, California — Only a few minutes after the first pitch at 7:05 PM Tuesday, San Diego Padres slugger Manny Machado blasted a fastball from A’s lefthander Jeffrey Springs over the right field wall at Sutter Health Park.
By the time Springs retired his third out of the top of the first inning, the Padres has two more runs and led the Athletics, 3-0, before the home team took its first swing.
But three hours later, in response to a question from LVSportsBiz.com, A’s manager Mark Kotsay said with runs being scored at a high clip at this minor league ballpark the A’s will need to “outslug” visiting teams.
And after the Padres dropped a three-spot on the Athletics, that’s exactly what the A’s did. They not only matched the Padres’ three-run opening outburst, the A’s added another three for good measure for a six-run inning.
Springs settled into a groove, yielding only another run.
The A’s notched their first home win at the minor league ballpark that is supposed to be their temporary ballyard for three seasons before coming to Las Vegas to open a new $1.75 billion domed stadium on the Strip in 2028.
Final: A’s 10 Padres 4.
The Athletics’ first home win at Sutter Health Park gave the club a 2025 record of five wins and seven losses, good for third place in the five-team American League West.
The A’s also improved the press space, using the existing press box plus a suite a few doors down.
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The A’s said attendance was 9,018 tonight after Monday’s 9,502.
There were many open seats when Springs tossed the game’s first touch but more and more seats were filled as the game went on.
The A’s are making slightly less than $60 million under it NBC Sports California TV regional deal by playing their home games in Sacramento. Plus, there’s revenue-sharing cash.
The team has shared the burden of upgrading Sutter Health Park/River Cats/NBA Kings owner Vivek Ranadive to improve everything from the scoreboard and digital displays to premium hospitality areas. A’s owner John Fisher is friends with Ranadive.
Fisher is coming to Las Vegas and he has some other good deals. The nine acres that will serve as the footprint for the 33,000-capacity Vegas stadium on the 35-acre site on the Strip is free courtesy of the land owner — real estate investor Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. (GPLI).
Another freebie was that Major League Baseball waved its relocation fee, which could be valued at several hundred million dollars.
And his friend, Ranadive, is allowing the A’s to play at Sutter Health Park for free, rent-free.
Fisher, though, will have to bring more than $1 billion to the table to build the $1.75 billion ballpark at the former Tropicana hotel-casino site. The public is contributing $380 million, though the A’s they will use $350 million of the $380 million to build their stadium. The groundbreaking is scheduled to be held before July 1.
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