• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Baltimore Sports Today

Baltimore Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Football
    • Ravens
    • Redskins
  • Baseball
    • Nationals
    • Orioles
  • Basketball
    • Mystics
    • Wizzards
  • Capitals
  • Soccer
    • Blast
    • D.C. United
    • Spirit
  • Colleges
    • George Mason
    • George Washington University
    • Georgetown
    • Howard
    • Johns Hopkins
    • Morgan State
    • Towson
    • University of Maryland

Orioles-Athletics series preview: The O’s make their first ever visit to Sacramento

June 7, 2025 by Camden Chat

Baltimore Orioles v Oakland Athletics
Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images

The Orioles will play the first series in franchise history at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento as they pay a visit to the temporary home of the A’s.

It’s not often that the Orioles play in a ballpark and city for the first time in franchise history, but they’ll have that honor this weekend when they take on the No City Athletics in Sacramento. The A’s are spending the next three seasons at Sutter Health Park in California’s capital as they await the completion of their new stadium in Las Vegas. The park is the normal home of the Sacramento River Cats, the A’s former Triple-A affiliate and current top farm team of the Giants.

Not only will this be the first time the O’s play in Sacramento as big leaguers, but the first time any of them play in Triple-A’s second-largest park. Baltimore’s Triple-A team in Norfolk plays in the International League, while the River Cats play in the Pacific Coast League. Triple-A doesn’t do interleague play, so Friday will be the first time the Orioles’ homegrown players step onto the field at Sutter Health Park in their lives.

The A’s new home is tied with Camden Yards this year for the most hitter-friendly stadium in MLB. Teams are scoring 5.5 runs/game in Sacramento in 2025, compared to 5.0 runs/game at Camden Yards and 5.7 at Coors Field. Teams hitting at Sutter Health Park also have the second-highest batting average (behind Coors) and third-highest slugging percentage (behind Camden Yards and Dodger Stadium).

The move from the Oakland Coliseum north to Sutter Health Park hasn’t given the A’s more of a home-field advantage; the opposite, in fact. The A’s have the second-worst home record in baseball at 10-22, only just scoring their 10th home win yesterday against the Twins. The move away from the pitcher-friendly Coliseum has wreaked havoc on the A’s pitching staff, as they’ve seen their team ERA balloon from 4.37 last season to 5.84 this year (worst in MLB).

The annual road trip to northern California has been a welcome sight for the Orioles the last two seasons. Since 2023, the O’s are 5-1 against the A’s in California, outscoring them a combined 45 to 31.

A subplot we’ll see play out when the Orioles and A’s take the field is the top two candidates for American League Rookie of the Year facing off against each other. The Athletics have the current AL ROY front-runner in shortstop Jacob Wilson. The 23-year-old is second in the AL with a .363 average and second in all of baseball with 86 hits. He’ll face Orioles super 35-year-old rookie Tomoyuki Sugano in the series finale, as Sugano looks to make up ground in ROY race.

Game 1: Friday, June 6th, 10:05pm ET, MASN 2

Probable pitchers: RHP Dean Kremer (5-5, 4.70 ERA, 51 Ks) vs. TBD

The Northern California native Kremer will take the mound Friday, playing less than 50 miles from his hometown for the first time in his career. Kremer is coming off one of the best months of his career in May, when he posted a 2.72 ERA over 36.1 IP with three quality starts. His last time out against the White Sox, he threw six innings while only giving up one run and striking out seven.

After leaning more heavily on his four-seam fastball in April, Kremer has started using his cutter, four-seamer and sinker with roughly the same frequency over the last month. It’s helped his cutter become his best pitch of late, with opponents only hitting .077 on Kremer’s cutter in May.

Kremer never faced the A’s in Oakland, and he’ll hope he can improve upon his history against his hometown team Friday. He has a career ERA of 5.23 against the A’s and the last time he faced them he gave up four runs over 4.1 innings in a game the O’s lost 8-4.

While the A’s have yet to announce their starters for this weekend’s series, the likely starter Friday is lefty J.P. Sears. The soft-tossing southpaw has been a welcome sight for Orioles hitters in the past. When Sears faced off against the O’s in Baltimore last year, he allowed seven runs over 6.1 innings, while giving up home runs to Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Ryan Mountcastle. The last time he faced Baltimore in California was even worse, with Sears giving up seven runs over four innings in a game Gunnar Henderson almost for the cycle (he finished with a HR, 3B and two 2B).

Game 2: Saturday, June 7th, 10:05pm ET, MASN

Probable pitchers: RHP Charlie Morton (2-7, 6.20 ERA, 52 Ks) vs. TBD

The Charlie Morton Redemption Tour makes its next stop in Sacramento on Saturday. For the second start in a row, Morton will face off against a team that, historically, he’s dominated. In eight career starts vs. the Athletics, Morton has a 2.58 ERA while holding A’s hitters to a .188 average. When he faced the A’s last June in Atlanta, Morton worked around five walks to post six scoreless innings while allowing only one hit and striking out six.

Morton is back throwing his A+ curveball and it’s made all the difference for the 41-year-old pitcher with a 1.64 ERA over his last five appearances. Opponents hit .333 against Uncle Charlie’s Uncle Charlie in April. However, after the opening month, the average against Morton’s curve dropped .200 and it’s back to being his go-to offering.

Morton is getting more run on his curveball this year, with the shape sometimes looking more like a sweeper than a traditional curveball. He’s averaging 15.5 inches of horizontal break on his curveball in 2025, the most horizontal movement he’s gotten on his breaking ball since 2022. The extra movement is helping him pepper the outside edge against lefties, while maintaining the ability to bury a back-foot breaking ball as a putout pitch.

The A’s rotation lines up for them to throw big offseason addition Luis Severino on Saturday against the O’s. Baltimore is plenty familiar with Severino’s game, having faced him for eight seasons when he was with the Yankees. After he dominaed Baltimore most of his career, the Orioles enacted some revenge in their two games against Severino in 2023, when Severino only managed to throw six combined innings while allowing 20 hits and 16 ER.

Game 3: Sunday, June 8th, 4:05pm ET, MASN2

Probable pitchers: RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (5-3, 3.04 ERA, 40 Ks) vs. TBD

Sugano vs. Wilson will headline the battle in the series finale as the Orioles’ ageless rookie continues on his quest to become the fourth Japanese player to win AL Rookie of the Year. Sugano has been good at Camden Yards this year, but even better when he takes his talents on the road. Tommy Sugar has a 2.45 ERA away from Camden Yards while limiting opponents to a .200 average as the visiting pitcher.

As Sugano has adjusted to major league hitters, we’ve seen him rely more and more on his splitter. After throwing his splitter on 24% of the time in April, we’ve seen Sugano bring that usage up to 28% over his last six starts. The more he’s thrown the splitter, the better its results, with opponents hitting .256 against it in the first month and only .091 since.

Sugano should benefit from an element of unfamiliarity as well, as only three A’s hitters have seen 50+ splitters this season. The O’s starter will need to be careful not to leave too many splitters over the plate to A’s rising star Tyler Soderstrom, who’s hitting .353 and slugging .706 against splitters this season.

The O’s will likely see lefty Jacob Lopez Sunday in Sacramento, with the only question being how the A’s choose to deploy him. Lopez started his season in the A’s bullpen, went down to Triple-A to build up his stamina and has come back with two starts and one bulk-relief appearance. In the past we’ve seen teams use a right-handed opener followed by a left-hander long man against the O’s to get Baltimore to start a lefty-heavy lineup. However, with the likes of Jackson Holliday and Ryan O’Hearn starting against all lefties, the A’s may choose to roll with Lopez from the start on Sunday.

Filed Under: Orioles

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Feds bring gun-related charges against illegal immigrants accused in shooting of border officer
  • News & Notes: Kyle Van Noy Thought About His Football Future ‘a Lot’ This Offseason
  • NYC pawn shop owner pleads guilty to fencing luxury items stolen from homes across U.S.
  • Commanders news and observations: Incoming vets begin forming connections
  • Lamar Jackson’s Super Bowl Vision Starts With Focus on Training Camp

Categories

  • Baseball
    • Nationals
    • Orioles
  • Basketball
    • Mystics
    • Wizzards
  • Capitals
  • Colleges
    • George Mason
    • George Washington University
    • Georgetown
    • Howard
    • Morgan State
    • Navy
    • Towson
    • University of Maryland
  • Football
    • Ravens
    • Redskins
  • Soccer
    • Blast
    • D.C. United
    • Spirit
  • Uncategorized

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • Bleacher Report
  • CBS Baltimore
  • Forgotten 5
  • NBC Sports Washington
  • Maryland Sports Blog
  • OurSports Central
  • PressBoxOnline.com
  • The Baltimore Sun
  • The Baltimore Wire
  • The Sports Daily
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today
  • Washington Post
  • Washington Times

Baseball

  • MLB.com - Orioles
  • MLB.com - Nationals
  • Baltimore Baseball
  • Birds Watcher
  • Camden Chat
  • District On Deck
  • Federal Baseball
  • Last Word On Baseball - Nationals
  • Last Word On Baseball - Orioles
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Nationals
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Orioles
  • Nationals Arm Race
  • Orioles Hangout

Basketball

  • NBA.com
  • WNBA.com
  • Amico Hoops
  • Bullets Forever
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM
  • Wiz Of Awes

Football

  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Washington Redskins
  • Baltimore Beatdown
  • Baltimore Gridiron Report
  • Ebony Bird
  • Hogs Haven
  • Last Word On Pro Football - Washington Commanders
  • Last Word On Pro Football - Baltimore Ravens
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Ravens
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Redskins
  • Our Turf Football - Ravens
  • Our Turf Football - Redskins
  • Pro Football Rumors - Ravens
  • Pro Football Rumors - Redskins
  • Pro Football Talk - Redskins
  • Pro Football Talk - Ravens
  • Redskins Gab
  • Ravens Wire
  • Redskins Wire
  • Riggos Rag
  • Total Ravens

Hockey

  • Washington Capitals
  • Elite Prospects
  • Japers Rink
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • Stars And Sticks
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Baltimore Blast
  • Black And Red United
  • Last Word on Soccer - DC United
  • Last Word on Soccer - Spirit
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • Big East Coast Bias
  • Busting Brackets
  • Casual Hoya
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Fourth Estate
  • GW Hatchet
  • Saturday Blitz
  • The Diamondback
  • The Hilltop
  • The Hoya
  • Testudo Times
  • Zags Blog

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in