The MLB Athletics arrived Monday night in their new temporary home, Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, marking a new era for the team and the ballpark. The Chicago Cubs came to town to take them on, playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 12,119 fans.
The ballpark is usually home to the Sacramento River Cats, the AAA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The A’s were granted temporary co-residence in the ballpark while they are working through their relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas, thanks in large part to a friendship between River Cats and Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé and A’s owner John Fisher.
The club gave away a Sacramento-themed hat and a tribute towel to honor the late franchise legend Rickey Henderson, who passed away in December at the age of 65 after a bout of pneumonia. The team also dubbed the evening “Rickey Henderson Night,” playing a touching tribute video on the jumbotron before the game while all A’s players and coaches wore Henderson’s number 24 on their jerseys.
The A’s pitching struggled from the jump, as starter Joey Estes allowed four runs in the first inning alone and left the game with six runs allowed by the end of the fourth inning. Reliever Noah Murdock also left the game with six runs allowed, all within one inning.
The A’s offense was only able to muster three runs, including the first major league home run for young star shortstop Jacob Wilson.
In the end, the A’s allowed 18 runs across 21 hits to the resilient Cubs lineup, and were unable to catch up to the early lead they had given up. The shorter outfield walls in comparison to most major league ballparks were a noticeable factor in some of the home runs scored and was a major talking point among fans and media all week long.
Cubs catcher Carson Kelly notably hit for the “cycle” in this game (a single, double, triple and home run all in the same game), the first such game of the young 2025 MLB season.
The game marked the first entry of the Athletics’ three-year tenure in Sacramento while they await a new stadium being built in Las Vegas ahead of the 2028 season.
