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The Sacramento Athletics\u2019 Nick Kurtz, right,\u00a0celebrates with Darell Hernaiz after hitting a grand slam against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday in West Sacramento.<\/p>\n
Scott Marshall\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Giants ace Logan Webb pitches during a game against the New York Mets in San Francisco, Sunday, April 5, 2026. The Rocklin (Placer County) native will miss the series in Sacramento with right knee bursitis.<\/p>\n
Jeff Chiu\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Fan Mark\u00a0Forsyth wears his Mike Yastrzemski jersey and A\u2019s hat in the outfield seating area during the Giants\u2019 exhibition game against the Sacramento River Cats at\u00a0Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on March 23, 2025.<\/p>\n
Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
The San Francisco Giants<\/a> and the Sacramento Athletics<\/a> face off this weekend, but what had been the Battle of the Bay has taken new meaning, and a new name. The A\u2019s clipped their Oakland roots to beat a path to the Las Vegas desert with a pit stop in Sacramento, eventually ceding Northern California to the Giants and relegating this rivalry to the less cool sounding \u201cInterstate 80 Series,\u201d trading in the Bay Bridge for the Yolo Bypass.<\/p>\n Decades of failed ballpark proposals and debates over territorial rights<\/a> turned the geopolitical Battle of the Bay somewhat sad and bitter by the time the A\u2019s moved out of the Coliseum at the end of 2024. When the Sacramento A\u2019s visited Oracle Park in 2025, the Giants seemingly waved a victory flag when they hung a banner over Section 415 in center-right field with San Francisco\u2019s 415 area code and the East Bay\u2019s 510 area code with a heart tying the two<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 a kind of cold invitation for abandoned Oakland fans to switch their allegiances.<\/p>\n The Giants have won the territorial battle.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The A\u2019s, though, are winning on the field.<\/p>\n While the Giants have toiled in mediocrity, finishing at or just under .500 in each of the last four seasons, the A\u2019s have quietly built one of baseball\u2019s most compelling offenses from the rubble of a payroll-related roster teardown that began after the 2021 season.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The A\u2019s are (precariously) in first place in the American League West thanks to that offense and at least one emerging MVP candidate. They\u2019re 22-20, and lackluster pitching\u00a0\u2014 lacking consistency and punch since Mason Miller was traded to the San Diego Padres last year\u00a0\u2014 has kept them from taking off despite their offense.<\/p>\n In contrast, the Giants are off to one of their worst starts of the decade despite a retooling under the Buster Posey administration intended to bump them over the .500 mark to which they\u2019ve been anchored.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Playing in a hitter-friendly Triple-A ballpark helps, but the A\u2019s are slamming at the plate. Their .731 OPS through Wednesday ranked seventh in MLB, as did their .404 slugging percentage. Catcher Shea Langeliers is at the center of that, off to a start so hot that if he continues, he\u2019ll be squarely in the AL MVP conversation with Aaron Judge. Langeliers has hit 12 home runs with a 177 wRC+ (a stat that compiles weighted run creation; 100 is average).<\/p>\n Sacramento Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, a dark-horse AL Most Valuable Player candidate, celebrates after hitting a double against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday in West Sacramento.<\/p>\n Scott Marshall\/Associated Press<\/p>\n Langeliers is also one of the longest-tenured A\u2019s on the roster, as well as a key part of the team\u2019s teardown of their previous core. He came from the Braves organization in the deal that sent Matt Olson to Atlanta in 2022. (Olson is raking with the hot Braves this year, it should be noted.)<\/p>\n Distinctly different from the Giants\u2019 current roster, the A\u2019s core is primarily built on top draft picks who have delivered star power. The A\u2019s stretch of ugly rebuild years yielded the opportunity to draft first baseman Nick\u00a0Kurtz (the fourth overall choice in the 2024 draft), shortstop Jacob Wilson (sixth overall in 2023) and left fielder Tyler\u00a0Soderstrom, their 2020 first-rounder.<\/p>\n Kurtz isn\u2019t experiencing much of a sophomore slump following his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2025; the 23-year-old slugger has five home runs with a 136\u00a0wRC+. He is one of the most potent bats in baseball this year with a stunning 58.4% hard-hit rate paired with a 21% walk rate to counteract the 29.8% strikeout rate. He\u2019s discerning at the dish, but when he\u2019s swinging it\u2019s with pop.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Wilson\u00a0\u2014 an All-Star last year\u00a0\u2014 recently landed on the injured list. That prompted the A\u2019s to call up yet another top prospect, Henry Bolte, who should be in action for the weekend series.<\/p>\n The Giants are on the other end of the spectrum in talent development. They\u2019ve traded their 2020 first-round pick, two-time Gold Glove catcher Patrick Bailey<\/a>, to the Cleveland Guardians. Bailey was one of few recent high Giants draft picks to significantly contribute to the big-league team, a rarity amongst the rest of the high-priced, veteran offense brought in from outside the organization that, despite the expense, has not been up to snuff.\u00a0<\/p>\n San Francisco\u2019s year at the plate has been almost comically bad. Their .656 OPS (through Wednesday) is second worst in baseball, ahead of only the New York\u00a0Mets. Their 30 home runs are tied for second fewest with the Milwaukee Brewers. Pitchers aren\u2019t fearing the consequences of attacking the zone against this lineup, which contributes to a 5.7% walk rate that not only ranks last in MLB\u00a0but is on pace for the lowest walk rate in franchise history.\u00a0<\/p>\n Posey signed Willy Adames<\/a>, re-signed Matt Chapman<\/a> and traded for Rafael Devers<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 this lineup\u2019s \u201cBig 3\u201d\u00a0\u2014 to compete within the tough NL West. Those three haven\u2019t produced; the trio have combined for just nine home runs, and each has a sub-100\u00a0wRC+.\u00a0<\/p>\n Giants slugger Rafael\u00a0Devers, celebrating after hitting a home run against the San Diego Padres on May 6 at Oracle Park, is heating up in May after a slow start to the season.<\/p>\n Jed Jacobsohn\/Associated Press<\/p>\n The Giants\u2019 biggest success story of the season so far is Casey Schmitt<\/a>, a jack of all trades defender who is smashing the ball primarily at\u00a0designated hitter. He has six home runs and a 137 wRC+. Schmitt and Heliot Ramos<\/a> (111 wRC+) are the few Giants homegrown hitters contributing in 2026.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Therein lies the biggest difference between the A\u2019s and Giants in 2026. The A\u2019s endured the forgettable miseries of tanking for the tribulation of drafting and developing first-round picks who have already elevated their offense.<\/p>\n The Giants have had plenty of their own contributors from the farm, though most of the impact comes from the pitching side. Logan Webb<\/a> is their biggest homegrown star. But their first-round picks in recent years have mostly fallen by the wayside or gotten little traction in the minors.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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