Sutter Health Turns into Pitcher's Park for A's Series Finale Against Padres
Athletics' shortstop Jacob Wilson is on a tear, with a 13-game hitting streak to start the season and a .396 batting average. Drafted by the A's with the No. 6 overall selection in the 2023 MLB Draft from Grand Canyon University, he is an underrated player if there ever was one.
Amazingly, he made his MLB debut on July 19, 2024, just a year after he was drafted after sailing through every level of the minor leagues, batting either above, or close to, .400 at each stop along the way.
Wilson is very reminiscent of former San Francisco Giants superstar outfielder, Hunter Pence in his batting stance and quirky approach at the plate as well as a thin, rangy physique and energetic style of play.
Meanwhile, the team as a whole has seemed to pick up the pace offensively, and Tuesday evening's contest featured a great showing from outfielder JJ Bleday, who went for 2-for-3 with three RBI, which included his first home run of the 2025 campaign.
Unfortunately for Jacob Wilson and the A's, the streakiness was not enough to win a series against the Padres to start this homestand. They lost two out of the three games to San Diego, and a big question mark remains as to how this ballpark will play in the future, with changing wind conditions, start times, and the weather already beginning to warm in West Sacramento.
Manager Mark Kotsay commented on the matter in his post game press conference.
"It played a lot different today, didn't it? We saw a couple of balls hit today, on our side, offensively, 106 to center field. We saw 102 Opening Night go out off the wall--the seeing eye. It definitely showed a different element today."
Kotsay would go on to say that when people have asked how the ballpark will play, they just don't know. It's going to take some games in these different conditions before the team has a better grasp on what play at Sutter Health Park will be like.
To that point, Wednesday's starter Osvaldo Bido may be the right kind of pitcher to have at their new home in West Sacamento. Last season across 63.1 innings of work, he ranked in the 100th percentile in hard hit rate (27%). He entered yesterday's game in the 70th percentile (33.3%), which should mean few long flies off the veteran righty.
The good news is that the club has gotten their first win out of the way at home, and found some rhythm and routine at their new ballpark. The not-so-great news is that the New York Mets are coming into town, who behind Juan Soto and Pete Alonso, have won three straight series, and are 7-3 in their last ten.
The A's will hope to end that streak and start one of their own when their series begins Friday night, following an off-day on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (PT), with JP Sears (1-1, 3.46 ERA) taking the mound for the A's, and former Los Angeles Angels starter Griffin Canning (0-1, 2.79) heading to the mound for the Mets.
Bridget Mulcahy is a freelance journalist and baseball author based out of Sacramento, California. She attended University of California, Davis where she earned her degree in Communications and Professional Writing. In 2018, she began covering the Sacramento River Cats at Sutter Health Park including the 2019 Pacific Coast League champion season. She has built her own website and social media presence where she writes about all aspects of baseball and provides a fresh, insightful perspective on the game.