Athletics open farewell series in Oakland vs. Rangers

The Athletics begin a three-day celebration of their 57 years in Oakland on Tuesday night when they open their final home series of the season, a three-game set against the defending champion Texas Rangers.

The A’s are set to relocate to Las Vegas in 2028. For the next three seasons, the team will play its home games in Sacramento, Calif., at Sutter Health Park, which holds around 14,000 fans.

Big crowds are expected to participate in the going-away party. With Thursday’s finale so sentimental, many have pushed for Mt. Davis, a 20,000-seat portion of the upper deck built to expand capacity for the NFL’s then-Oakland Raiders, to be opened. The game is already a sellout.

A’s owner John Fisher has broken his silence on the franchise’s relocation out of Oakland.

Read Fisher’s complete statement here: https://t.co/qURtI8XXBS pic.twitter.com/xSoeFDwcHe

— Sactown Sports 1140 (@Sactown1140) September 23, 2024

The Athletics drew their third-, sixth- and seventh-largest attendance numbers of the season for their series against the New York Yankees this past weekend, but those on hand saw three straight Oakland defeats. Fans did get to witness Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, a Northern California native, homer on Saturday and Sunday.

Coincidentally, the A’s attracted just 2,895 people — their smallest crowd of the season — when the Rangers were in town on May 6. Texas took three of four games during that visit.

Oakland (67-89) enters the series with Texas on a three-game skid, though it has already won 17 more games this season than it did all of last year (50-112).

A’s manager Mark Kotsay, who played for Oakland from 2004-07, is looking forward to Thursday’s finale.

“People have asked, ‘What are you going to feel or what’s the emotion going to be like?’ Until I go through it on Thursday, I really won’t be able to give you an honest answer,” Kotsay said. “There’s going to be a lot of emotion.”

The A’s will kick off their final Oakland series with right-hander Mitch Spence (8-9, 4.30 ERA) on the mound. The rookie has gone 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his past five starts, allowing eight runs in 26 2/3 innings.

That stretch included a start at Texas on Sept. 1, during which Spence allowed two runs over five innings. The 26-year-old is 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two appearances (one start) against the Rangers this season.

Getting scheduled for the last games in Oakland gives three Rangers who used to play for the A’s — catcher Jonah Heim, infielder Marcus Semien and lefty reliever Andrew Chafin — a chance to be on hand for the festivities.

Semien was the most impactful of the three during his stint in Oakland, finishing third in American League MVP balloting in 2019 as part of a six-year run as the A’s shortstop.

“I’m going to miss playing here. This is one of my favorite places to play,” said Semien, a San Francisco native. “Obviously I was a home player here, but coming back here I know my parents can be here, my siblings. My family always comes back for this trip, too. … I’ll never forget this place.”

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (11-8, 3.96) is scheduled to make his 13th career start against the A’s, his seventh at Oakland Coliseum, where he has gone 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA. Overall, he’s 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA lifetime against the Athletics.

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