Giants slug past A’s in gusty series finale behind Harrison Bader’s grand slam
It was gusty and then some on Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park, the outfield flags whipping and the nearby trees swaying in the 28-30 mph winds.
The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning across Sacramento and much of Northern California for the heavy wind, and West Sacramento felt every bit of it.
Before the 1:05 p.m. first pitch in the series finale between the A’s and the San Francisco Giants, the beer garden on the concourse down the left-field line was closed to ensure fan safety, the possibility of the tent landing on people deemed too risky. There was pre-game discussion of closing the grassy berm beyond the right-field fence, but where to put all of those people who eventually packed in? Some limbs were trimmed from the large trees that provide shade.
Fittingly, snippets of Bob Seger’s catchy classic tune “Against The Wind” played on the loudspeakers early in the game. The Giants won 10-1, turning a 2-1 game into a rout with an eight-run eighth inning as 12,541 fans squeezed into the Triple-A park, the third sellout of the weekend and ninth of the season (the A’s had just seven sellouts in 2025 season).
And yes, a lot of A’s and Giants caps and wide-brimmed hats flew off of heads, some never to be seen again, and it was not a good day for anyone battling allergies.
Wind is considered the most tricky and maddening element to deal with in baseball. Home runs suddenly become outs, the gusts pushing the ball inward. Routine plays often don’t feel or look so routine, including Sunday.
In the first inning, a stack of stapled papers from the press box were carried by the gusts into the stands. In the top of the third inning in a scoreless game, Luis Arraez hit a shot to right field for the Giants. The wind pushed the ball just over the fence for a home run, prompting outfielder Carlos Cortes to throw his hands up in a sign of frustration.
Harrison Bader’s grand slam breaks it open
Harrison Bader entered Sunday with a .148 batting average amid a challenging season that included missing 25 games with a strained hamstring. That led to six rehabilitation games with the Sacramento River Cats at Sutter Health Park, the Giant’s feeder program, a stretch in which he hit two home runs.
On Saturday night, the wind — not nearly as gusty as Sunday — denied Bader of a home run. On Sunday, there was no doubt about his 346-foot grand slam over the right-field fence in the eighth inning to push the Giants ahead 10-1 as San Francisco improved to 7-2 against the A’s since the start of last season, when the A’s started their three-year stopover at Sutter Health Park before their scheduled relocation to Las Vegas in 2028.
The bad inning spoiled an otherwise strong pitching effort by A’s starter Jeffrey Springs, whose record dipped to 3-4. Springs in six innings allowed five hits, one walk and one earned run with three strikeouts. The A’s had three errors in the eighth.
“He did a great job,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of Springs. “That’s the story of the game, really. It’s a 2-1 game in the eighth, and I think we kicked the ball around three times in that innings. That’s not good baseball, and when you don’t play good baseball, things get out of hand, and it did in the eighth.”
A’s still in first
Despite losing the series to the Giants 2-1, the A’s remain in first place in the American League West at 23-23 heading into a seven-game road trip, four against the Los Angeles Angels and three at the San Diego Padres. This is the club’s best start after 46 games since 2021.
Kotsay said he was delighted to see the full crowds, even with a lot of Giants fans attending.
“The crowds came out,” he said. “It’s unfortunate we didn’t finish this game off today. It’s always a competitive series against the Giants, and we look forward to getting them again when we go there (to San Francisco on June 23-25).”
The Giants moved to 20-27.
F.P. Santangelo’s mother moment
F.P. Santangelo did a lot and has seen a lot in his many years in baseball, including playing in 665 Major League Baseball games from 1995-2001, and as a broadcaster with the Washington Nationals and, in recent years, with the Giants.
Saturday night was an all-timer moment for the Oak Ridge High School of El Dorado Hills and Sacramento City College product. Santangelo’s mother, Giannina Santangelo, threw out the first pitch. Her son caught that pitch. Wearing an A’s cap and a Giants uniform, Giannina was beaming as much as her son, who played for the Giants and A’s and parts of two seasons with the Sacramento River Cats.
Santangelo’s father, Frank Santangelo, was there on the infield before that game with his bride of 60 years, and they recalled how F.P. stands for Frank-Paul, but also as “Fruit Punch” when their son was a little lad. Now Santangelo, the ex-player, said F.P. can, for a day, stand for “First Pitch.”
The first-pitch idea was something Santangelo thought of. What better way to honor his mother on her 80th birthday than to have her loosen her arm up and deliver a pitch. Santangelo got in touch with A’s broadcaster Chris Carray, and the idea became reality. He helped her practice in the family’s El Dorado Hills backyard.
“Special moment,” Santangelo said before Sunday’s game. “She was there for me the whole time, at all of my games as a kid, whether it was Little League, high school, junior college. My parents would take time in the summer and travel with me in the Minor Leagues, in Double-A and Triple-A, and they did that a few times in the big leagues, too. Never would be here without their support. I’m so thankful that my parents are still so active at 80. My mom was nervous about the first pitch, but she did great.”
Santangelo said his mother was stunned at the suggestion, and she wondered before the first pitch if she could muscle the ball across the plate. That she wore the colors of both teams led to cheers. She could do no wrong. Giannina and Frank Santangelo were career educators before retirement, including Giannina serving as principal at Valley High School in the Elk Grove Unified School District and Frank teaching physical education and coaching football at Valley. They were a power couple in education.
Santangelo’s son, F.P. Jr., attended Saturday’s game, and daughter Summer followed along from Alaska on social media.