A's Home at Sutter Health Park to be Tested This Week

Apr 1, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; General view of Sutter Health Park before the game between the Athletics and Chicago Cubs. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

The upcoming homestand for the Athletics will have a few very different tests built in. On the one hand, the club will be facing the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners, with the A's just two games back to begin the series. They'll also welcome the New York Yankees over the weekend, which is expected to bring packed houses.

The A's will be tested on the field in their effort to continue proving they belong. With the Yankees in town, the infrastructure of ballpark, which has struggled with dropped radio feeds and internet for the media, will also be tested.

But the most interesting test that will happen is going to be of the ballpark itself. How will Sutter Health Park play when the weather warms up? While A's manager Mark Kotsay has said that his home park plays most closely to Wrigley Field in Chicago due to the wind influencing the ball's flight, Chicago doesn't get spikes in heat like Sacramento does.

The weather in Sacramento this week is expected to hit highs of 87 and 88 for Monday and Tuesday, before dropping down to a reasonable 80 for Wednesday's afternoon game. Friday night's opener against the Yankees is currently projected for a high of 92 during the day, while the afternoon game on Saturday is at 89. Sunday will be a lovely 75.

While these aren't absurd temperatures to play baseball in, they're certainly warmer than the ones the team has experienced, with the high game-time temperature from the previous homsestand being 71 degrees. That was the Tuesday night loss to the Texas Rangers where Osvaldo Bido gave up four home runs in 5.1 innings of work.

This isn't to say that the ball just needs to be tapped in order to find the seats, but the expected warmer weather could play a role in how the ball plays this week, and presumably for much of the rest of the home schedule if the temperatures remain warm.

Even in cooler temperatures, Sutter Health Park has been the second-most hitter-friendly park in MLB according to Park Factors, just behind Oriole Park. The only hint of blue on the ballpark's chart is for singles, which are less likely at Sutter Health because of the quick way the outfield has played. Balls in the gap tend to go for two, or even three bags.

Sutter Health Park is also the fifth-most homer friendly venue in baeball according to the data, behind New York, Toronto, Baltimore, and the Angels. It's still a little early to make bold proclamations, but the warmer weather would certainly seem to suggest that the ball will fly a bit more than it already has.

This could also be where we start to see the A's making use of their home field advantage. The team is just 6-9 at home this season, with it taking a few series to get used to the lay of the land and some of the quirks of the ballpark. For the most part, it has looked as though they've settled in after a string of tough opponents to begin the year.

This will be Seattle's first trip to West Sacramento, and if the ball is traveling a little further, then the pitching that typically carries them could allow an extra run, or an extra hit or two, and that could have a big positive impact on the A's hopes of taking the series.

The real test will be on Wednesday, a day game, against Bryan Woo. If memory serves, Woo has tossed about 40 innings against the A's and has never allowed as much as a hit against them. While this may be a bit of a stretch, his actual ERA across seven starts is sub-1.00. If the A's can touch him up, then Sutter Health Park could become their secret weapon this season.