![\"Zack](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2279002159-GI.JPG\" "\\"Zack")
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Zack Gelof and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics celebrate defeating the New York Yankees, 6-4, at Sutter Health Park on Saturday in West Sacramento.<\/p>\n
Thearon W. Henderson<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Saturday night\u2019s high drama in the ninth inning will either be novelty to cherish or a preview of what could become a regular occurrence if Sacramento\u2019s Major League Baseball expansion dreams come true.<\/p>\n
The Athletics held a lead, but the New York Yankees\u2019 three-time American League MVP and future Hall of Famer Aaron Judge came to the plate as the tying run with the bases loaded \u2014 and the atmosphere at Sutter Health Park was as electric as a Triple-A stadium could be while filled with 12,361 fans, many clad in Yankees pinstripes.<\/p>\n
Judge drew a walk, one of four straight Yankees to do so with two outs in the ninth, threatening a 6-1 lead the A\u2019s spent the first eight innings building. Relief pitcher Scott Barlow ultimately got Jazz Chisholm Jr. to ground out, and the A\u2019s held on with a 6-4 win to snap a four-game losing streak.<\/p>\n
The scene served as a reminder of what\u2019s at stake for West Sacramento with the expansion bid<\/a> announced this week by regional government and business leaders. The A\u2019s are slated to finish out this season and 2027 based at Sutter Health Park before their planned move to a new ballpark in Las Vegas, meaning dramatic baseball moments like Saturday\u2019s could be fleeting if MLB instead grants expansion to Salt Lake City, Portland, Vancouver or another western province in the coming years.<\/p>\n Or visits from high-profile teams like the Yankees and MVPs like Judge \u2014 or Shohei Ohtani, whose Los Angeles Dodgers come to Sacramento at the end of June \u2014 will become commonplace, with 81 regular season home games a year on the shore of the Sacramento River.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen there\u2019s a bunch of fans in the stands, we\u2019re going to feed off that energy,\u201d said A\u2019s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, who hit a solo home run in the sixth inning. \u201cYankees being here, it\u2019s a packed house. Obviously a fun environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Local officials will continue to argue Sacramento deserves a permanent Major League team on its merits. And they have a case when they point out seven media markets smaller than Sacramento have MLB teams; that the A\u2019s are offering a trial run that could prove the region\u2019s viability; and that West Sacramento can provide some $1 billion in public infrastructure while others could bring in nearly a $1 billion more in land deals and private investment.<\/p>\n Even Judge is a fan of the idea, having been born in Sacramento, raised in nearby Linden and playing for Fresno State before his Hall of Fame career with the Yankees.<\/p>\n He signed autographs for roughly half an hour after the final out<\/a> was recorded Saturday and spoke Friday about his belief that Sacramento would be a great city<\/a> for a Major League team.<\/p>\n Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty attended the first two A\u2019s-Yankees games of the series after imploring the public to pack Sutter Health Park when he spoke at Thursday\u2019s rally announcing the \u201cSacramento Pitch.\u201d He connected with Judge by way of baseball legend Reggie Jackson, a Hall of Famer who starred with the A\u2019s and Yankees.<\/p>\n The A\u2019s first season in West Sacramento didn\u2019t go to plan \u2014 nor did it provide much optimism regarding the idea of expansion. They lost 20 of 21 games during a rough stretch in the first half of the season that killed any momentum or possibility of a potential playoff run going into the summer. Ticket prices were too high, causing season ticket holders to complain about being unable to sell their seats, and the A\u2019s did little to adopt Sacramento as its permanent home.<\/p>\n This season, the A\u2019s appear to have learned some lessons. Saturday was another \u201cSacramento Saturday\u201d in which the team wore its new gold jerseys with \u201cSacramento\u201d script across the chest, which have been a popular item among fans at Sutter Health Park.<\/p>\n Ticket prices are down, and the A\u2019s came into their current home stand in first place in the American League West, though the rival Seattle Mariners took over that position by sweeping the A\u2019s earlier this week.<\/p>\n Saturday marked the A\u2019s 11th sellout of the season through 27 home games after they sold out just seven of their 81 home dates in 2025.<\/p>\n Industry experts have said attendance at A\u2019s games in their Triple-A ballpark will do little to sway MLB when it comes to its expansion decision. It will more likely come down to primary ownership \u2014 a billionaire, willing to pay what is expected to be billions of dollar sin expansion fees \u2014 which \u201cSacramento Pitch\u201d doesn\u2019t have yet, but continues to seek.<\/p>\n In the meantime, games and atmospheres like Saturday\u2019s will be a reminder of what could be a regularity in Sacramento \u2014 or a novel memory, a blip of MLB\u2019s stopover in California\u2019s capital region, if an expansion teams land elsewhere.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0014_262905_JV_A'S_YANKEES.jpg\" "\\"0014_262905_JV_A'S_YANKEES.jpg\\"")
New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge signs autographs before the Yankees faced the Athletics on Friday at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n![\"Athletics](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1646_262905_JV_A'S_YANKEES.jpg\" "\\"1646_262905_JV_A'S_YANKEES.jpg\\"")
Athletics center fielder Henry Bolte watches the ball hit by New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice land in the right center field grass for a home run on Friday at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
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