"Rounding Third, I Had Chills": Sacramento Crowd Leaves Its Mark on Muncy, Butler
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In the third and fourth innings of Friday night's home opener, the A's broke the game wide open. Right in the middle of the offensive outburst was third baseman Max Muncy, who roped a double and stroked a solo homer to extend the A's lead in each inning.
By the time the fourth inning was over, the A's were up comfortably, 10-1, and the crowd was loving it. The vibes were high in front of the sellout crowd of 12,410—the highest attended game for the A's in their tenure at Sutter Health Park.
Lawrence Butler broke out of a mini 0-for-8 slump with a 3-for-5 evening that included a three-run homer in the fourth. He'd end up with four RBI and two runs scored, providing a huge boost to the right fielder, after entering the game batting .083.
Butler and Muncy take note of crowd's energy
After the game, Max Muncy was asked about the A's Sutter Health Park attendance record that was set on Friday night, and he immediately responded with, "It was electric. Rounding third [after the home run], I had chills. It was awesome. The fans were into it. I loved it. Thanks to them for coming out."
Butler was asked about the expectations that this crowd may have set for the Sacramento area when it comes to packing the park each and every game.
Butler jokingly replied, "Yeah, they better show up every day like that. I don't want to see no empty seats. I don't care if it's one o'clock, 12:15, seven, six—they gotta show up every day. It really gives us a good momentum, a good atmosphere in the crowd. You know, it's going to help us out on the field."
The biggest play of the night wasn't a home run
The infield pop-up that dropped for Tyler Soderstrom, scoring Denzel Clarke, and allowing the fourth inning to continue was a big moment in the game. Not only did the A's receive bonus outs to play with, but it create the space for both Butler and Muncy's home runs. That one dropped ball made it so that the A's could score another six runs in the inning, and in an 11-4 contest, that's a costly mistake.
We're going to take a play in the previous inning to that one though as the game-changing moment, when the Astros were threatening in the top of the third inning. With a runner on third and Jose Altuve at the plate, the 3-2 pitch was called a ball by the umpire, which would have put runners at first and third with two away and the dangerous Carlos Correa coming up in a game that was still 1-1.
Instead, Shea Langeliers challenged the call, and ABS determined that it had just clipped the very bottom of the strike zone, ending the inning, and Houston's threat. The A's came up in the bottom of the inning and scored three quick runs, putting them up 4-1. That one challenge changed the complexion of the game entirely.
Heck of a challenge here by Shea Langeliers on the seventh pitch. Ended the inning, and the threat. pic.twitter.com/8QVwqQDq4R
— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) April 4, 2026
We asked Mark Kotsay how an ABS call like that can invigorate the dugout, and he said that it's a momentum changer.
"Absolutely a momentum changer right there. It's the perfect spot for Shea to challenge a pitch with a leverage count, we've talked about it." He then mentioned that if the score had been closer, he likely would have made a similar challenge in the seventh with Michael Kelly on the mound and would have continued to be aggressive with the challenges.
"Those are the areas that we're talking about and that we're going to continue to learn about. But if we don't get that strike three call on Altuve it's another high-leverage moment for us as a club. To get off the field and kill the inning, there's run value in that."
Prior to ABS, perhaps this game goes a little differently. But thanks to the challenge system and the keen eye of Langeliers, the A's were able to take home a commanding 11-4 win in the opener. Game two of the series is tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. (PDT).
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Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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