On a warm evening, Sutter Health Park was filled with enthusiastic fans as the San Francisco Giants took on the Sacramento River Cats in their fifth exhibition matchup. The energy in the stadium was palpable as supporters from both teams came out to enjoy the game as the start of the baseball season approaches.
Despite the high temperatures, fans expressed their excitement. “Oh, this is cold for Sacramento, are you kidding me? It”s a little early, but I can live with it,” remarked Mark Sargent, who attended with his wife, Tracey, from Woodland. Another fan, Bob Slama from Rancho Cordova, shared, “We”re in the shade. I knew where I was buying the tickets at.”
For Anna Sargent, who splits her time between Woodland and Millbrae, the exhibition game was a perfect opportunity to enjoy family time with her parents. “It”s nice because I can just do both now,” she stated. Mark Sargent added, “So we support both of the organizations very strongly.” Anna also noted the intimacy of the smaller stadium, saying, “It”s more intimate in the smaller stadium for sure.”
The president of the River Cats highlighted the importance of the exhibition game, describing it as a chance for local fans to witness emerging talent from the Giants and reconnect with former players who had donned the River Cats uniform. “It”s fun to talk about who”s gone up, who”s gone down, who”s gone back up, who”s gone back down. We get to see them in both stadiums very easy,” Mark said.
Slama echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the convenience of having the Giants play in Sacramento. “Oh, it”s great. It”s close. We go to games at Oracle Park, but it”s great that they”re here in Sacramento. Last year, we saw the A”s and Giants versus each other, and it”s great. It”s here, it”s close to home.”
The exhibition game served as a prelude to the season for both teams. Following this matchup against the River Cats, the Giants will return to San Francisco for their home opener on Wednesday against the New York Yankees. “This is my third year in a row going to the exhibition game,” Anna shared. “It”s exciting. It”s baseball season, finally,” Slama added.
In a tightly contested game, the River Cats managed to edge out the Giants with a score of 2-1, thanks to a pair of solo home runs.
