Elk Grove native blasts big home run in Sacramento homecoming vs. A’s
Rowdy Tellez wasn’t going to foot the bill for his Sacramento homecoming this week against the Athletics.
“I told my friends, if it was San Francisco or Oakland, I can do that,” the Seattle Mariners first baseman said Wednesday with a grin. “Because I know that the gas prices out here are tough. But I said they have no excuses here. They gotta buy their tickets.”
Tellez didn’t say how many people from the area came to watch him play this week at Sutter Health Park. The Elk Grove High School alum stayed with his parents roughly 20 minutes south of the stadium while his big-league team played in California’s capital region for the first time. He had a strong contingent behind the Seattle dugout during this week’s three-game series between the A’s and Mariners in West Sacramento.
Although he didn’t pay for everyone’s tickets, he did treat his guests to one of the biggest hits of the week. The brawny left-handed hitter launched a sixth-inning, three-run home run to get the Mariners back in the game after falling behind 5-0 in Wednesday’s rubber match.
Seattle scored twice more in the eighth inning to escape with a 6-5 win, taking two of three against their American League West rivals.
“All the games I played here were in high school, but it’s pretty cool to be here,” Tellez said. “A lot of friends, a lot of family, come see me, and it’s cool to be this close to home. I always thought Oakland and San Fran would be the closest I’d ever get to home, but 20 minutes away from here is pretty cool.”
Tellez’s home run was his fifth of the season. He’s currently in his eighth MLB season and on his fourth team. His best season came with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022, when he slugged 35 home runs with 89 RBIs.
Wednesday’s home run came on a cut-fastball from reliever Mitch Spence on a 3-2 pitch. It caught a little too much of the plate on the lower, inside portion of the strike zone.
“That’s a swing path for Rowdy,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “If it’s up and in, it’s going to be a little more difficult for him to stay inside the baseball. He dropped the barrel down, it was a pitch in the sweet spot.”
Said Tellez: “I know he had to come to me and he didn’t want to walk guys. And I was able to put a good swing on it.”
His homer ended up in the lawn seating beyond the right-field fence, where a fan caught it on a single bounce off the bullpen roof.
Tellez joined the Mariners as a free agent in the offseason on a minor league contract but worked to make the team out of spring training. He’s one of six former teammates at Elk Grove High School who have played in the majors. The other five: J.D. Davis, Dom Nuñez, Derek Hill, Nick Madrigal and Dylan Carlson, many of whom Tellez keeps in touch with.
“You got to watch all these kids grow up,” Tellez said. “It’s pretty special that there’s six of us from a six-year span, and we all made it to the big leagues. Obviously (Jeff Carlson) coached all of us, so I know that’s pretty special.”
A standout in high school, Tellez earned Sacramento Bee Player of the Year honors in 2012 and 2013.
Tellez was moved to see longtime Elk Grove High School baseball fan, Ted Price, this week during the series. Price lost his wife of 60 years, Eleanor, in November 2020. The couple were staunch supporters of Tellez and the Thundering Herd baseball team.
“They came to every high school game that I was part of,” Tellez said. “To have that person come out like that and the people people that come out like that to support you. It shows you what our program at Elk Grove School meant a lot to everybody around here.”
A’s drop in division standings
Thanks in large part to Tellez, the A’s dropped to 20-18 and now sit three games behind the Mariners (22-14) for the AL West lead. Wednesday marked the second straight game the A’s lost a late-inning lead, following a 5-3 defeat Tuesday night. The A’s prevailed 7-6 in 11 innings on Monday, with rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson hitting a walk-off single.
Wilson on Wednesday had his first-career four-hit game in the leadoff spot and improved his batting average to .357 on the season. Gunnar Hogland pitched well in his second major-league start, throwing 5 1/3 innings and getting tagged for two earned runs.
Outfielder Lawrence Butler hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, his sixth homer of the season.
The A’s will have a day off Thursday, their first since April 21, before hosting the first-place New York Yankees for three games over the weekend. First pitch on Friday is 7:05 p.m. at Sutter Health Park.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 5:23 PM.
