![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Athletics_Temporary_Home_Baseball_76170.jpg\")
<\/a>FILE \u2013 Fans watch from the outfield seats during the fourth inning of a baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Athletics Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo\/Sergio Estrada, File)<\/p>\n\u200bIn addition to the patch of West Sacramento\u2019s Tower Bridge the team wore on its sleeves last season, every Saturday home game \u2013 the 13 games have been dubbed Sacramento Saturdays \u2013 the Athletics will wear gold alternate jerseys with \u201cSacramento\u201d across the front.<\/p>\n
\u200bFor the players, Opening Day will mark the debut of the \u201cprivacy area\u201d at Sutter Health Park, a designated spot in the dugout where starting pitchers can gather without needing to go to the clubhouse, which is located beyond the outfield wall.<\/p>\n
\u200bHere\u2019s a look at some key series to watch this season, including the franchise\u2019s first \u201chome games\u201d in Las Vegas since 1996:<\/p>\n
\u200bApril 3-5 vs. Houston Astros<\/p>\n
After opening the season at Toronto and Atlanta, the Athletics begin their second season in Sacramento with a weekend series against the Astros. The team was 36-45 at home last season, the fourth-worst record in the majors. They were 40-41 on the road.<\/p>\n
\u200bApril 10-12 at New York Mets<\/p>\n
After years of trading off their best players, the Athletics added two-time All-Star Jeff McNeil over the winter. The 33-year-old second baseman spent his first eight seasons at Citi Field, winning a batting title in 2022. Former A\u2019s All-Star shortstop Marcus Semien is now with the Mets, but it won\u2019t be much of a reunion: None of Semien\u2019s 37 teammates from the 2020 team (his last season in Oakland) is still in the organization.<\/p>\n
This will be a homecoming series for Nick Kurtz, who received the nickname \u201cBig Amish\u201d last season as he bashed his way to the American League Rookie of the Year award \u2013 a nod to being 6-foot-7 and growing up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. That\u2019s one of the oldest and largest Amish communities in the world, although Kurtz\u2019s family is not Amish. His hometown is located about an hour and a half west of Citizens Bank Park, where Kurtz, as a kid, rooted for another massive slugging first baseman, Ryan Howard.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also the franchise\u2019s first visit to its original home since leaving Oakland. The A\u2019s played in Philadelphia from 1901 until 1954 \u2013 two years less than their run in the East Bay \u2013 before moving to Kansas City.<\/p>\n \u200bMay 15-17 vs. the Giants<\/p>\n The former Bay Bridge Series rivals will mark the second anniversary of the I-80 Series for a weekend series in the shadow of the Tower Bridge. The teams meet again in late June for three midweek games in San Francisco. The series (not counting the A\u2019s sweep in the 1989 World Series) is tied at 77-77. The Athletics were 1-5 against the Giants last season, but the win came at Sutter Health Park, which they share with the Giants\u2019 Triple-A affiliate.<\/p>\n \u200bJune 8-14 vs. Milwaukee and Colorado in Las Vegas<\/p>\n Construction for the Athletics\u2019 state-of-the-art stadium on The Strip isn\u2019t expected to be completed until 2028, but Vegas fans will get their first regular-season look at their future team for the first time since it left Oakland. But the six games \u2013 the first part of a 13-game, two-city homestand \u2013\u00a0 will not be the first regular-season home games the A\u2019s have played in Vegas. They were the \u201chome\u201d team for six games \u2013 complete with Elvis impersonators \u2013 to open the 1996 season while Mount Davis was being constructed at the Coliseum to accommodate the return of the Raiders from L.A. The A\u2019s went 2-4 at Cashman Field, which is now used primarily as a soccer venue after Las Vegas Ballpark opened in 2019.<\/p>\n<\/a>New York Mets\u2019 Marcus Semien fouls off a pitch during the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Houston Astros Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. (AP Photo\/Jeff Roberson)
\n\u200bMay 5-7 at Philadelphia Phillies<\/p>\n<\/a>Athletics\u2019 Nick Kurtz celebrates after hitting a three-run home run, his fourth home run of the game, against the Houston Astros during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 25, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo\/David J. Phillip)<\/p>\n