Major League Baseball opened its second season in West Sacramento in front of record breaking crowds Friday April 3, at Sutter Health Park.
The Athletics, formerly from Oakland, played their first “home” opener series against division rivals the Houston Astros. The occasion ended positively with the A’s winning the first game 11-4 following a three-run homer from Lawerence Butler and a home run from Max Muncy.
Prior to the game, fans from Sacramento and the Bay Area showed up early to tailgate and celebrate the team’s opening game.
(L-R) Jessica and Jafid Moran attend Opening Day in West Sacramento Friday April 3, 2026. They have gone to the last nine Opening Day games.Keyshawn Davis/CapRadio
Jessica and Jafid Moran are avid A’s fans and have been coming to Opening Day games for the last nine years. They drove from Santa Clara and plan to come to more games in Sacramento. They also expressed interest in attending games in Las Vegas where the team is slated to play in 2028.
“We're a baseball family,” Jafid Moran said. “Our son has been playing since he's five. He's 18 now, so baseball is just something that has been in our family for generations. Me and my brother played, our nephews play. It's a family sport.”
Jessica said the biggest difference she noticed between the Coliseum, the A’s old ballpark in Oakland, and Sutter Health Park is that Sacramento is more fan-based.
“The Oakland crowd was definitely more rowdy and more party-oriented, but it was also more like the fans were more family-based,” she said. “No matter where you came from or who you were, if you were an A’s fan, you were family, and you were just welcomed no matter who you were.”
Fans wait patiently to enter Sutter Health Park for the Opening Day game against the Houston Astros Friday April 3, 2026.Keyshawn Davis/CapRadio
David Padilla, an A’s fan since childhood, tailgated prior to Friday’s game with friends and family. Originally from the Modesto area, Padilla said he is committed to supporting the team regardless of their potential move to Las Vegas.
“As long as they keep the green and gold spirit, I'll always follow them,” Padilla said. “We're gonna go to Vegas. But if you truly love something, you'll follow it wherever it goes, though. So that's my mentality right now. I'm always going to be an Oakland A. I will never be Sacramento, I will never be Las Vegas, I will always be Oakland.”
Sacramento resident and season ticket holder Tim Albright came to Friday’s game with his family.
Tim Albright (left) and his family attend the Opening Day game against the Astros Friday April 3, 2026. Albright is a current season ticket holder and Sacramento residentKeyshawn Davis/CapRadio
He said he’s hoping the team will remain in Sacramento instead of relocating to Las Vegas.
“We will attend the first Opening Day and get a feel from there, but it's nice having it in your backyard. [It’s] a little different when you've got to travel,” Albright said. “But it's been my team for my entire life. So we'll see what that first year looks like.”
MLB may face a lockout following this season, meaning this could potentially be the last season the A’s play in Sacramento.
The league is looking to add two teams by 2029 and Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty and West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero are expected to launch a campaign advocating for a team.
“When one door closes, another opens,” Albright said. “There's already conversation about another big league team here in Sacramento, and certainly, if that occurs, we'd support that as well. And maybe we'll have to take a trip to Vegas.”
The Athletics lost their second home game against the Astros getting blanked 11-0, but followed with a home win the next day when Brent Rooker hit two home runs including a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
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