San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman (26) wears a hat as part of Armed Forces Day before the game against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. photo Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:
#1 San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman is foregoing social media after receiving hate mail one of the worst ones a fan who wrote “I hope your family dies.” Chapman said “People always threaten us. I just block and move on. I don’t make a big deal out of it, but it’s definitely not a good thing. I would never do such a thing to anyone.” Chapman added.
#2 The Cincinnati Reds have placed star shortstop Elly De La Cruz on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Can Cincinnati remain competitive during his absence, and what impact will the call-up of top prospect Edwin Arroyo have on the club?
#3 The NL West race is heating up. Are the Los Angeles Dodgers still clear favorites despite pitching concerns, or do the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks have a realistic path to overtaking them?
#4 Major League Baseball’s labor negotiations are becoming a major off-field story. How concerned should fans be about the possibility of a work stoppage in 2027, and what would a salary cap proposal mean for the sport’s competitive balance?
#5 Former Boston Red Sox and Hall of Famer David Big Pappi Ortiz says that Sox owner John Henry is concerned about the way the Sox are heading who are in last place. “He’s worried. We had a conversation. I can see. I’ve known John a long time, him and the whole team — him and (chairman) Tom Werner, the whole group, they’re working on figuring things out to get this ride better,” Ortiz said Monday morning in an interview with The Associated Press.
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.
LaTerraza Mexican Restaurant 1027 2nd Street in Old Sacramento give them a call at 916-440-0874
From the second you step in the front door, the sounds of Latin America will gently seduce your ears and continue as you relax outdoors with your favorite cocktail enjoying the view. The wonderful flavors and aromas of our cuisine will not disappoint.
We use only the finest, freshest, local ingredients in every dish and every dish is prepared to order. Enjoy live mariachi music weekly and on special occasions, catch balet folklorico dance performances among other live entertainment. Come visit us and have a great time! Enjoy fast, friendly service, fantastic food & cocktails, music and allow us to share our beautiful Mexican heritage with you.
LaTerraza Mexican Restaurant at 1027 2nd Street in Old Sacramento give them a call at 916-440-0874.
Sacramento A’s pitcher Jacob Lopez (center) leaves after being relieved by A’s manager Mark Kotsay (right) in the top of the third inning against the New York Yankees at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Sun May 31, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Barbara Mason:
1.The Sacramento A’s got exactly the start they were looking for in game three of their series with the New York Yankees. With the series tied at one apiece the A’s were looking to finish off the series with a second win.
2.The A’s had an amazing win in game two that was spearheaded by a slew of home runs-with Shea Langliers, Tyler Soderstrom and Nick Kurtz all chipping in en route to their win in game two.
3. After taking the 3-0 lead in the first inning Sunday, the A’s really dropped the ball in the third inning giving up a crazy 13 runs which was all the Yankees needed to take the series 13-8.
4. The A’s finished the game with 12 hits one more than the Yankees who had 11. They had a couple of home runs but had so much ground to make up after New York took the 13-3 lead in the third inning. After that third inning New York did not score another run.
5. Tuesday evening the A’ will begin a three game series with the second place in the National League Central the Chicago Cubs. The A’s will start Gage Jump (0-1 ERA 7.20). The A’s have lost their last four of five games and will be looking to get back on track with a win.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Sacramento A’s manager Mark Kotsay meets with the media before their game against the New York Yankees at Sutter Health Park on Fri May 29, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Daniel Dullum:
#1 Daniel, What was the turning point in the game when the Yankees scored 13 runs in the third inning, and how did that inning change the outcome?
#2 Which Yankees players had the biggest offensive contributions during the 13-run third inning, and what specific hits did they record?
#3 How effective was Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren, and what role did he play in securing the victory?
#4 After splitting the first two games of the series, what factors helped the Yankees win the rubber match against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park?
#5 The Yankees tied a franchise record by having 12 consecutive batters reach base. Why is that achievement significant, and how did it reflect the team’s approach at the plate?
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Mandatory Photo Credit: The Pitch media packet and rendering from Hart Howerton
By Jeremiah Salmonson
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The greater Sacramento area officially threw its hat in the unofficial MLB expansion ring on Thursday, announcing a new entity called The Sacramento Pitch to lead the effort in luring MLB to expand to West Sacramento. “We come together to celebrate 175 years of a love affair for baseball and officially launch our campaign to bring a major league baseball expansion team right here to Sacramento,” Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said at the press conference.
However, does the city have what it takes to make this bid real, and who are the players behind it?
This expansion desire isn’t a recent development or something that was hastily put into existence. The Sacramento area has been working for a while on exploring an expansion opportunity after the Athletics leave for Las Vegas after the 2027 season.
“We spent the last year working quietly behind the scenes to build the partnerships, the investments and the long-term vision in order to compete effectively for an expansion franchise,” Mark Friedman, founder and chairman of the Fulcrum Property Group, said at the event on Thursday.
It’s clear that Sacramento views itself as a real player in the MLB expansion sweepstakes, whenever that actually happens. With MLB facing a potential lockout and work stoppage following this season at the end of the current CBA, who knows when the expansion talks will actually formalize in MLB. However, it has seemed to be the writing on the wall that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred would like to have the new teams in place by his departure at the end of his term in 2029. So, for the sake of clarity, let’s remove the current uncertainty of MLB from the equation and just evaluate the financial backing, the proposed site and the momentum that Sacramento has appeared to generate.
The Funding, for Now
The Pitch says it has assembled $1.8 billion in public and private financing.
This will be in part from a contribution from the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians in addition to an undisclosed amount from the United Auburn Indian Community. An article from the Sacramento Bee’s Annika Merrilees confirms the commitment and adds that a spokesperson from the tribes says each party will contribute $250 million to the effort.
The Pitch also states that the main contribution from the city of West Sacramento will come in the form of an EIFD.
I asked Friedman in an interview how the deal would work, and he explained the situation to me.
“The formal mechanism is called an EIFD, which is an enhanced infrastructure financing district,” Friedman told me Thursday. “But basically think about it as a property tax rebate. The city will rebate to us the share of property taxes that are created by the new development as a way of facilitating it. The taxes are only generated by the property — it doesn’t affect anybody else in the community, and it only relies on revenue that the project itself generates.”
That sounds like private financing with a city rebate to come later as the project generates revenue. Unlike a lot of projects that rely on county-issued bonds, like the A’s deal in Las Vegas, this deal seems to have a different structure.
The Site
The site itself seems to be the strongest part of the Pitch and its structure to bid for an MLB franchise during expansion. The 50-acre site that is under and adjacent to the current Sutter Health Park is fully entitled and zoned for a stadium project, often the most difficult part of any new stadium deal.
“It’s easier [getting funding/building] than the entitlements,” Friedman told me. “But in this case, we have a site that’s ready to go. It’s fully zoned, it’s entitled, we already have a stadium here — and that is more than half the battle in California. It’s getting the approvals to do a use of a particular area.”
The site would be picturesque. It’s one of the more ideally located spots in all of the city, and the Sacramento skyline would serve as the backdrop, much as it currently does for Sutter Health Park. As for how the actual design and layout of the park would be, we aren’t at that point in the process, but Sutter Health Park would most likely be gone as a result of any such project.
“The stadium takes about 17 acres,” Friedman said to me in my interview with him. “We haven’t gotten to the official design stage, but it could either be on the existing site [Sutter Health Park], next to it, or a combination of the two. We’ve got to go through a full planning effort to figure out what the sightlines look like and where the parking ought to be located before we finally settle on a formal location.”
Sacramento Appetite
At the conclusion of the press conference on Thursday, the crowd in attendance led a Sac-ra-mento chant that lasted for about a minute. There’s a tangible buzz and excitement around the area about a potential expansion opportunity with MLB. Unlike the A’s temporary move here, the idea of ownership is a new thing and a fresh baseball start in the city has garnered a lot of public support, at least at this launch event.
“We’re a bigger market than seven current major league baseball teams,” Barry Broome, CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, said during the press conference. “What’s going to put this over the finish line is the changing mindset inside our own community — shifting away from the naysayers to the doers. This is the doers’ town now.”
Former MLB player and Sacramento native Derek Lee was also excited about the launch of the bid for an expansion team.
“We’ve [him and Dusty Baker] been in all 30 big league cities, and this is a major league city, no doubt. This is a big deal. Let’s change the mindset. Let’s get it done.”
The city does seem to be a big league town. From solid attendance for the River Cats over the years, along with good attendance for the A’s in their temporary stop in the city, to regularly selling out Golden 1 Center for the Kings, the appetite for professional sports in Sacramento is real.
“Sacramento has always supported professional sports,” Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said. “For four decades, this community has stood by the Kings — sellout after sellout — building one of the NBA’s most loyal fan bases.”
West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero echoed the sentiments of others in her remarks to the crowd.
“For more than 25 years, baseball has been a part of West Sacramento’s identity,” Guerrero said. “The River Cats became one of the most successful and best-attended franchises in minor league baseball, helping demonstrate the long-term viability of professional baseball in the Sacramento market.”
In my opinion, the viability of MLB expansion is not only viable, it’s likely to be successful if it happens.
The No. 1 obstacle standing in the way of the city achieving its goal is not being able to find a financial ‘whale’ and majority owner with the cash to make it happen and the popularity to win over the other owners’ favor in the inevitable expansion vote.
In the end, that search will define the success of this ambition for the region of Sacramento.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Jacob Lopez #57 of the Athletics pitches against the New York Yankees in the top of the first inning at Sutter Health Park on Sun May 31, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Athletics and Yankees played the rubber game of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. The Yankees took the series from the A’s with a historic 13-8 victory on Sunday to cap the A’s homestand.
Jacob Lopez got the ball for the A’s to start the game as Mark Kotsay looked to fill his rotation after the injury to Luis Severino. Lopez really struggled on Sunday after getting off to a solid start, retiring the first six batters he faced. In the third inning, it unraveled as Lopez gave up seven runs on five hits while walking two, as he was unable to record an out in the inning.
“Jacob going out in that inning… the two walks became an issue right away,” Kotsay said after the game. “He gets himself in a jam, doesn’t cover first base, it’s a mental lapse there and it cost him, it cost him severely.”
Kotsay went on to describe how the abbreviated start from Lopez left the team in a bad spot, and he didn’t mince words.
“We needed a start from him today after dealing with Friday and an injury where we ran the pen hard,” Kotsay said postgame. “We ran the pen again last night to get a win. We needed five, six innings from Jacob today and we unfortunately weren’t able to get that.”
Kotsay’s frustrations weren’t just words. Jacob Lopez met with the media at his locker after the game and informed reporters that he had been sent down to Triple-A.
“I mean, it’s kind of been a common thing all year,” Lopez said in the clubhouse. “So, I’m going to go to Triple-A and figure it out.”
Aside from his demotion, I asked Lopez if he had ever been part of such a wild inning at any level of his baseball career.
“No, I’ve never been a part of a 13-run inning.”
Having to go to the bullpen early yet again, Mark Kotsay went with Michael Kelly to try and clean up the mess in the third inning. Kelly struggled mightily, and the bleeding continued for the A’s and their pitching staff as he was only able to get two outs in the inning.
Kelly threw 42 pitches to get those two outs while giving up six runs on six hits and walking two Yankees hitters. Lopez, combined with Kelly out of the bullpen, was part of one of the worst innings in MLB history. The Yankees scored 10 runs in the inning before Kelly was able to get the first out, tying the 2003 Boston Red Sox, who did the same thing.
Kotsay had to turn to Jack Perkins, his third pitcher of the third inning, to close out the frame. He got Trent Grisham to fly out and closed the book on the disastrous inning for the A’s pitching staff. All told, Jacob Lopez and Michael Kelly gave up 13 runs, 11 hits, and four walks in the disastrous third inning.
Perkins went on to pitch another two innings for the A’s, trying to provide some length out of the bullpen. Perkins pitched the fourth and fifth innings, going three up, three down in both frames and needing only 30 pitches across his two and one-third innings of work.
Mark Leiter Jr. was the next man up for the A’s as he pitched a scoreless sixth inning while allowing just one walk.
Luis Medina pitched the seventh and eighth innings for the A’s and was on fire, allowing no hits or walks while striking out four Yankees hitters.
Jose Suarez capped the pitching effort for the A’s as he tossed a scoreless ninth inning while striking out one.
On the offensive side of the ball, the A’s battled but ultimately couldn’t overcome the historically bad third inning.
Believe it or not, the A’s actually had a three-run lead in the game as they scored the first three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Jonah Heim got the A’s on the board first when he reached on a fielding error in center field that allowed two A’s runners to score and gave the A’s a quick 2-0 lead.
One batter later, Lawrence Butler got the A’s their third run of the inning as he lined an RBI single to left field that scored Heim from second base and gave the A’s a 3-0 lead.
The A’s wouldn’t score again until the seventh inning when Brent Rooker homered to left-center field to give the A’s their fourth run of the game, albeit in a 13-4 contest. Rooker’s homer was his eighth of the year and his 26th RBI. The shot left his bat at 109 mph and traveled 404 feet over the wall in left field.
Later in the seventh inning, the A’s got three more runs on a three-run shot from Jonah Heim to right field that brought them back within six runs and made it a 13-7 ballgame. It was Heim’s second home run of the year and increased his RBI total to 11. The home run left the bat at 106 mph and traveled 409 feet.
Nick Kurtz, who reached base four times on Sunday, got the A’s their final run of the game with a booming RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning that left his bat at 107 mph. It was Kurtz’s 12th double of the year and his 41st RBI of the campaign.
The A’s offense tallied eight runs on 12 hits while drawing five walks.
With the loss, the A’s fell to 28-31 on the year while the Yankees improved to 36-23 and took the series, 2-1.
The A’s will travel to Chicago on Sunday night and spend an off day in the Windy City before a three-game series with the Cubs that begins Tuesday at 5:05 p.m. PST. The A’s will send Gage Jump (0-1, 7.20 ERA) to the mound to make his second major league start, while the Cubs are scheduled to counter with Jameson Taillon (2-4, 5.37 ERA) in the series opener.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
J.T. Ginn #35 of the Athletics pitches against the New York Yankees in the top of the second inning at Sutter Health Park on May 30, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Athletics took on the Yankees in game two of a three-game series on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. PST. The A’s looked to bounce back after a tough 8-2 loss on Friday in the opening game of the series.
The A’s got the best of the Yankees on Saturday, defeating New York 6-4.
J.T. Ginn got the ball for the A’s as they looked to get back on track in what has been a tough stretch for them. Ginn, who struggled in his last outing in San Diego after a stretch of three really solid performances, dusted off that outing and performed brilliantly on Saturday. J.T. pitched six innings for the A’s and needed only 80 pitches while giving up just one run (an unearned run) while scattering four hits and three walks over the outing. Ginn struck out four Yankees batters and managed to work his way around two errors from his defense behind him.
It was another strong outing from Ginn, and all the more impressive to see him turn the page on a bad outing and lead the way for the A’s.
“J.T. had a great night,” Mark Kotsay said after the game. “This kid has been throwing the baseball really well. Obviously tonight was a night where they had the lineup stacked with lefties, and in the past that’s been an issue for JT. Tonight he attacked. … This kid’s so mature, he’s maturing so nicely.”
“I think we just stuck with the same process throughout the week,” J.T. Ginn said of his start after the game. “I just flush that last outing and try to get back out there and do what we’ve been doing.”
Ginn also spoke on the more specific ways he’s been able to improve his game, which he attributed to his adjustments against left-handed hitters.
“I think just finding a more consistent pitch mix, especially against left-handed hitters. I think just finding a better mix against them and finding a couple other ways to get them out has been huge for me.”
The A’s bullpen came into the game to start the seventh inning, and they picked up where Ginn left off.
Hogan Harris came in and pitched a scoreless seventh inning, albeit with a bit of drama. Harris gave up a walk and a hit but managed to escape unscathed while striking out two in a 31-pitch frame.
In the eighth inning, Justin Sterner was the second Athletics arm out of the pen. Sterner fired a clean three-up, three-down inning, needing only 16 pitches to get the job done.
Jack Perkins was the next man out of the pen for the A’s as he came on to pitch the top of the ninth inning. It was a rough inning for the A’s staff, as Perkins was only able to get two outs before being lifted. Perkins gave up three runs on one hit and three walks in his outing prior to Mark Kotsay giving the ball to Scott Barlow. Barlow was able to get the final out of the game, but not before surrendering three walks of his own that brought in the three runs charged to Perkins. It was a wild ride in the ninth, but the A’s ultimately were able to get the job done.
On the offensive side of the ball, I wouldn’t say it was an offensive explosion, but it was enough to get the job done.
The A’s tallied six runs on eight hits while drawing three walks.
The first runs for the A’s came in the first inning when Shea Langeliers sent a line drive over the center-field wall that also scored Nick Kurtz from first base. The blast from Langeliers left the bat at 109 mph and landed 426 feet away from home plate, his 14th home run of the year and RBIs 29 and 30.
The A’s didn’t score again until the sixth inning when Tyler Soderstrom hit a solo home run to left-center field. Soderstrom’s rocket home run left the bat at 101 mph and traveled 403 feet as a fan caught it just above the extended wall on the grass. Soderstrom has been beginning to heat up, and it was his seventh home run and 26th RBI of the season.
Soderstrom spoke after the game on his recent surge at the plate and the struggles he faced earlier in the season while not seeing the results he has become accustomed to.
“I’ve felt pretty solid at the plate for a while,” Soderstrom said. “I just didn’t really get much to show for it…. just trying to trust in my process. I know I’ve been in this situation before, kind of just gotta battle, and it’s been going good.”
In the seventh inning, the A’s added two more runs on a Nick Kurtz two-run home run over the center-field wall. It was a 104 mph blast that traveled 410 feet just over the outstretched glove of the Yankees center fielder. It was Kurtz’s 10th home run of the year and RBIs 39 and 40.
In the eighth inning, the A’s scored their final run of the game on a Zack Gelof RBI single that scored Brent Rooker from third base. It was a little poke over the leaping glove of Anthony Volpe, who was playing in at shortstop, to extend the lead for the A’s.
With the win, the A’s improved to 28-30 on the year as the Yankees fell to 35-23.
The A’s and Yankees will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park. Mark Kotsay said after the game that Jacob Lopez (4-2, 5.73 ERA) will start for the A’s, while the Yankees will start Will Warren (6-1, 3.55 ERA) in the matinee affair.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
New York Yankees Paul Goldschmidt (48) slugs a first inning home run off Sacramento A’s starter Luis Severino (not pictured) in the top of the first inning at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Fri May 29, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Tony Harvey:
#1 How much of an advantage do the Yankees gain from facing former Yankee pitcher Luis Severino, given their familiarity with his pitching style?
#2 Which star player is more likely to have the biggest offensive impact: Aaron Judge for New York or Brent Rooker for the Athletics?
#3 Can the Athletics reverse their recent home struggles in Sacramento against one of baseball’s strongest teams, or will the Yankees continue their winning momentum?
#4 What role will the hitter-friendly conditions at Sutter Health Park play in the outcome, and which lineup is better built to take advantage of the ballpark?
#5 The Athletics took a series from the Yankees earlier in April. Will this matchup be a chance for New York to even the score, or can the Athletics prove their earlier success was no fluke?
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Luis Severino #40 of the Athletics is taken out of the game by manager Mark Kotsay with an injury in the second inning of their game against the New York Yankees at Sutter Health Park on May 29, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The A’s had a rough week coming into the Friday night series opener against the New York Yankees.
Prior to their day off on Thursday, the A’s were swept by the division-rival Seattle Mariners. The Mariners swept the A’s in their three-game series, outscoring them 22-4. It was a perfect storm, with the A’s pitching and hitting floundering at the same time.
On Friday, the A’s continued to scuffle as they dropped game one of the three-game series, 8-2.
The A’s were hoping to get back on track behind their most expensive player by far this season, Luis Severino, who is making $25 million. Yet, the 32-year-old veteran could not deliver, as he was pulled after just one inning of work. Severino left the game after giving up four runs on three hits in the first inning while striking out one batter. It was a rough first inning, and he went straight to the pitchers’ room flexing his arm after coming off the field. Luis ended up leaving the field with an Athletics trainer, and the A’s announced shortly afterward that he departed with what they described as “right arm soreness.” Severino threw only 26 pitches.
“Tuesday when he threw his side, I was there for it. Everything looked great,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of Severino after the game. “He said he felt good. Wednesday felt good. Obviously when you ramp it up and you go into competition, you just don’t know how it’s going to respond. And after the first inning, when he went out to warm up, he just felt like it was still tight. He just couldn’t get loose and we made a decision to just shut him down.”
After the game, Severino spoke with the media about his injury and the specifics of the issue that caused him to leave the game.
“I felt like if I kept throwing, something even worse was gonna happen,” Severino said after the game. “So that’s why I stopped.”
Severino continued and addressed the specific spot where he felt pain during the start, saying, “It’s like, kinda tricep.”
The A’s have stopped short of calling it anything other than arm soreness, but it appears the tricep will be worth watching moving forward.
Severino’s abbreviated start left Mark Kotsay and the A’s bullpen in a tough spot, needing to cover eight innings of the game.
First out of the bullpen for the A’s was Jose Suarez, who tossed the second inning, giving up one run on three hits with one strikeout.
In the third inning, the A’s went with Joel Kuhnel. Kuhnel pitched the third inning and recorded two outs in the fourth inning while allowing two runs on three hits and recording a strikeout. The A’s bullpen couldn’t seem to find any momentum to this point as the game continued to slip away.
Hogan Harris came on to get the final out of the fourth inning and pitched the fifth inning in a scoreless outing. Harris added a strikeout in his appearance while needing only 15 pitches.
Justin Sterner came in next for the A’s and pitched a perfect sixth inning on just 11 pitches.
Scott Barlow came on to pitch the seventh inning for the A’s. Barlow gave up a run on a solo home run to Ben Rice, but other than that worked a solid inning in relief.
In the eighth inning, the A’s turned to veteran Mark Leiter Jr. Leiter Jr. tossed a scoreless inning while allowing one hit and striking out one batter.
In the ninth inning, it was Luis Medina who came on to close out the pitching side of things for the A’s. Medina pitched a scoreless ninth and allowed just a walk, albeit while the defense made an error for the second baserunner of the inning. Medina struck out one of the five Yankees he faced.
All in, the A’s used eight pitchers in a game that wasn’t particularly competitive while surrendering eight runs.
On offense, the A’s picked up right where they left off against the Mariners and struggled mightily to get anything going. The A’s managed eight hits and only two runs in the game while walking only three times. The A’s also hit into two twin killings, as the production wasn’t enough to get much going or sustain many scoring opportunities.
After the game, I asked A’s manager Mark Kotsay about his team’s recent offensive struggles, even while compiling some hits.
“You look at some at-bats tonight, we hit the ball hard,” Kotsay said. “… We’ve definitely squared some balls up and haven’t had any results, but we’re mixing in some unquality at-bats and we need to continue to try to build quality at-bats and get some more momentum going offensively.”
The A’s first run came by way of a Nick Kurtz solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to pull the A’s within three runs at the time. The blast off Kurtz’s bat traveled over the wall in left-center field, leaving his bat at 107 mph and ending its journey 408 feet from home plate. It was Nick’s ninth homer of the year and 38th RBI.
The A’s second run came in the ninth inning on an RBI single from Zack Gelof that scored Brent Rooker from third. It was Gelof’s 18th RBI of the season.
The A’s fell to 27-30 on the year with the loss as the Yankees improved to 35-22.
The A’s and Yankees will engage in game two of the three-game weekend series on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. PST. J.T. Ginn (2-3, 3.19 ERA) is scheduled to start for the A’s, while the Yankees will counter with Ryan Weathers (2-2, 3.14 ERA).
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Rendering of the proposed Sacramento Major League Baseball ballpark to be built in West Sacramento that was presented by The Barn in West Sacramento Group during a press conference on Fri May 29, 2026 (Renderings presented by The Barn West Sacramento Group)
By Mauricio Seguura
WEST SACRAMENTO–West Sacramento did not just raise its hand for Major League Baseball on Thursday. It walked to the plate with renderings, money, political muscle, tribal investment, real estate, baseball names, and a message that was hard to miss: this region does not want to be a temporary stopover. It wants a permanent franchise.
The press conference at The Barn in West Sacramento launched the “Sacramento Pitch,” a formal regional campaign to land an MLB expansion team after the Athletics leave for Las Vegas. The speakers included Fulcrum Property founder and Greater Sacramento Economic Council board chair Mark Friedman, Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty, West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, Greater Sacramento Economic Council President and CEO Barry Broome, former MLB manager Dusty Baker, former MLB player Derek Lee, and other civic and baseball voices tied to the effort.
Friedman framed the day as the beginning of a long campaign, saying Sacramento had quietly spent the past year building partnerships, investments, and a stadium vision so it would be ready when MLB opens the expansion door. McCarty leaned into the urgency of the moment, saying the region had announced a local ownership group, laid out financing, and begun making its case.
Guerrero’s message was rooted in West Sacramento’s readiness, arguing that MLB is already seeing the area’s energy, civic pride, and capacity through its current role as host to the Athletics. Baker, a Sacramento-area native and one of baseball’s most respected voices, gave the effort its emotional spine, saying he has long believed Sacramento is a major-league city and pointing to the region’s baseball roots, loyal fans, and growing footprint.
The proposal itself is not a napkin sketch, which is what makes this worth taking seriously. The plan centers on a 35,000-to-40,000-seat ballpark in West Sacramento’s Bridge District, adjacent to the current Sutter Health Park site, paired with a larger mixed-use development of housing, hotels, retail, office space, restaurants, and entertainment.
The broader Bridge District covers 180 acres and is already zoned and entitled for millions of square feet of development, with part of that vision already built. Friedman controls roughly 50 acres, giving Sacramento something several rival markets still have to chase: a site that is not theoretical.
The money stack is also unusually specific for an expansion bid. Local leaders say they have assembled about $1.8 billion in public and private commitments. West Sacramento is expected to provide up to $1 billion through tax increment financing, hotel taxes, and related tools, with officials saying the plan would not affect the city’s general fund or require a taxpayer vote.
The private side includes $250 million each from the United Auburn Indian Community and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, plus land and equity commitments from Friedman and the Sacramento Kings/River Cats side, each valued around $150 million. The campaign is also seeking additional limited partners.
But there is still one enormous empty chair at the table: a lead investor. That is the difference between a strong civic pitch and a real MLB franchise bid. Expansion fees are expected to land somewhere above $2 billion, possibly $2.5 billion or more, and MLB will want an ownership group with the financial strength to build, operate, absorb early losses, and still look stable on league letterhead.
Sacramento’s current pitch sets the ball neatly on the batting tee. Now it needs someone wealthy enough to take the swing and hit the ball.
So what are the chances? Better than they were a week ago, but there are still too many obstacles to give a solid assesment. Sacramento has a real case because it has land, public financing, tribal investment, a proven minor-league history with the River Cats, a top-20 media market, a metro population around 2.7 million, and only one existing major pro franchise in the Kings.
The Athletics’ temporary stay also gives Sacramento a live audition no other contender has. The problem is that Nashville, Salt Lake City, Portland, Charlotte, Raleigh, Orlando, Vancouver, and Montreal are not standing around holding bake sales. Some have stronger corporate bases, louder national buzz, or years of expansion groundwork.
Sacramento’s path improves dramatically if attendance for the Athletics strengthens, if a billionaire lead investor emerges, if the city keeps proving it can execute infrastructure without drama, and if MLB truly wants one Western expansion partner.
Two questions that have never been fully addressed, or even seriously considered, are what happens to the River Cats, who have played at Sutter Health Park for the past 25 years, and what Vivek Ranadivé makes of all this. Ranadivé owns both the River Cats and the Sacramento Kings, and the renderings of the proposed new stadium appear to show condominiums on the site where the current ballpark stands, also controlled by him.
For now, Ranadivé has not publicly laid out his position. But it is not hard to imagine that he would be reluctant to give up his ballpark, his team, or a valuable piece of downtown Sacramento real estate without a fight or a significant payout.
The other unanswered question involves the Giants. Let’s be honest: San Francisco has long wanted to maintain control over the Northern California baseball market. Three years of A’s baseball in Sacramento may be tolerable. But what would the Giants say about a permanent MLB team playing just 80 miles east of Oracle Park? And would they really remain passive if that possibility started to look real? Only time will tell, but if anyone can be an effective middleman in those negotiations, it’s Dusty Baker.
The bid is no longer a pipe dream. It is credible.
But credibility only gets Sacramento into the batter’s box. To hit the home run, the city still needs three things: a major investor, strong crowd support, and the kind of polished financial certainty that makes MLB owners stop nodding politely and start paying serious attention.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Seattle Mariners Juilo Rodriguez (44) hits a home run in the top of the eighth inning against the Sacramento A’s at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Wed May 27, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson:
#1 How did Seattle Mariners capitalize on early scoring opportunities against Sacramento Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs in the May 27, 2026 game?
#2 What impact did Logan Gilbert’s pitching performance have on the Mariners’ 9–1 victory over the Athletics at Sutter Health Park?
#3 Which offensive players were key contributors for the Mariners during their series-clinching win over the Athletics on Wednesday, May 27, 2026?
#4 How did the result of the Mariners vs. Athletics game affect the American League West standings and momentum for both teams?
#5 What concerns did Athletics fans express after the team was swept by the Mariners in Sacramento?
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
