River Cats to play host to Giants-A’s alternate site scrimmages. Here’s how you can attend

For fans wanting to see live professional baseball in the Sacramento area, your time is almost here.

The River Cats are opening their home ballpark to be the alternate training site for the San Francisco Giants. The MLB club will have 16 scrimmages against the Bay Area rival Oakland A’s beginning Monday. Of those contests, eight will be held at Sutter Health Park, with the first coming Wednesday at 1 p.m.

Fans are welcome to attend all scrimmages and tickets are on sale now, the club announced.

“We are honored to host this year’s Alternate Training Site for the Giants, and thrilled to welcome our fans to watch baseball again inside Sutter Health Park,” River Cats general manager Chip Maxson said in a statement released by the team.

The River Cats will host scrimmages April 7, 10, 13, 17, 21, 25 and 28, and also on May 1, which is the last of the 16 meetings. The other eight scrimmages will be held at Banner Island Ballpark, home of Oakland’s Low-A Ports.

Sacramento’s regular season begins May 6 with six-game sets at Las Vegas and Oklahoma City. The River Cats’ home opener is May 20 with a series against Reno. It will be the team’s first action since the Pacific Coast League champions won the Triple A National Championship in 2019, their third title overall. The 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fans must wear face coverings and attendance will be limited under local safety guidelines. All tickets are available online only. For more information, visit rivercats.com, call 916-371-HITS (4487) or email tickets@rivercats.com.

This is the 21st season for the River Cats, the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate since 2015. The club in February announced a partnership extension that runs through 2030. They were previously affiliated with the A’s.