Alonso's Orioles Visit a Struggling Athletics Squad at Sutter Health Park
Two teams trending in opposite directions meet Saturday night in Sacramento, with Baltimore clinging to relevance at 66-69 and Oakland buried at 53-82. There's no model read to anchor this one, so the matchup itself has to do the talking.
Let's be direct about what this game is: a late-August contest between a Baltimore club that hasn't separated itself from mediocrity and an Athletics team that has been one of the worst in baseball this season. The Orioles at 66-69 are still mathematically alive in whatever conversation they want to have, but they're not playing like a team with urgency. The Athletics at 53-82 are simply trying to get through the calendar. Neither of these records inspires confidence, but games still get played and someone still wins.
On the mound, Shane Baz is expected to start for Baltimore, with Jack Perkins set to take the ball for Oakland. Neither assignment comes with a guarantee — starters can change right up to first pitch — but that's the working plan heading into the 10:05 PM ET first pitch at Sutter Health Park. The pitching matchup is worth watching closely given how thin the margins are for both clubs.
The player who makes this game worth tuning into is Pete Alonso. The Baltimore first baseman is hitting .272 with 32 home runs and 91 RBI on the season — numbers that make him the clear offensive centerpiece for the Orioles and one of the more dangerous hitters in the American League. If Perkins struggles to locate early, Alonso is exactly the kind of hitter who punishes mistakes in a hurry. On the Oakland side, Lawrence Butler leads the Athletics in batting average at .228, Zack Gelof has 14 home runs, and Jeff McNeil has driven in 46 runs — a supporting cast that hasn't exactly been lighting up scoreboards. Our model doesn't have a validated read on this game tonight, so rather than manufacture false confidence, we'll leave it here: watch Alonso, watch the starting pitchers, and let the game tell its own story. Catch it on MLB.TV, MASN, or NBC Sports CA.