WEST SACRAMENTO -- Despite the early signs indicating that Sutter Health Park might be an extremely hitter-friendly stadium, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay maintained it was far too soon to make that declaration.
There were a total of 18 homers -- 11 of which were surrendered by A¡¯s pitchers -- and 67 runs through the A¡¯s first five home games. Still, Kotsay felt those assumptions from outside observers were premature.
¡°From my standpoint, it¡¯s too early to assess how this park is going to play,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°The results say it¡¯s a hitter-friendly ballpark, but I want to see a game where we execute our pitches.¡±
Though the A¡¯s came up short in a 2-1 loss to the Padres, the outing turned in by Osvaldo Bido in Wednesday¡¯s series finale was proof that MLB pitchers can succeed while pitching at Sutter Health Park.
By no means was Bido dominant. He pitched with traffic on the basepaths in each of his five innings and scattered nine hits. But by the end of those five frames, he departed the game having limited the Padres to just two runs with five strikeouts and no walks.
¡°There¡¯s a couple of pitches he could have executed with two strikes,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°But overall, to come off there with five innings and two runs, I thought he did a nice job just giving us a chance to win the game.¡±
Bido is the ideal pitcher to conquer the struggles that so many pitchers have endured at Sutter Health Park thus far. Among qualified Major League pitchers in 2024, he ranked in the 100th percentile in hard-hit rate (27%), 99th percentile in average exit velocity (85.6 mph), 93rd percentile in barrel rate (4.3%) and 94th percentile in xERA (2.72).
"His mix is the sinker that he can throw, and he throws the cutter off that,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°Those two pitches generally create weak contact. We saw that today.¡±
Taking note of how the ball was flying out with such frequency over the first five home games, Bido said he entered Wednesday¡¯s start stressing the importance of missing barrels, which can be easier said than done against a powerful Padres lineup.
¡°I saw that there were a lot of high-scoring games,¡± Bido said in Spanish. ¡°So, my mentality was to try to keep myself in good counts and execute my pitches as much as I can.¡±
Bido essentially laid out the blueprint for success on the mound. Of the 19 balls in play against him, Padres hitters averaged an exit velocity of 90.8 mph. There was plenty of weak contact -- eight of San Diego¡¯s nine hits were singles -- which continues to be a strength for Bido, as he¡¯s now allowed two earned runs in each of his first three starts of 2025.
¡°The majority of the time, I generate weak contact,¡± said Bido. ¡°I always focus on trying to find hitters¡¯ weaknesses to keep getting that weak contact.¡±
From catcher Shea Langeliers¡¯ perspective, Bido¡¯s effectiveness stems from his ability to hide the ball with his delivery, making his fastball appear even faster than the 94.8 mph it averaged on Wednesday and causing hitters to often swing late on it.
¡°The deception he brings,¡± Langeliers said. ¡°Especially for righties with that cross-body angle, that ability to create weak contact is going to be big for him.¡±
The direction of the wind may have also factored in what was the first game without a homer at Sutter Health Park this season. As opposed to past games where the wind was blowing directly out to center, Kotsay noted the air blowing from left to right and pointed to a pair of flyouts by Tyler Soderstrom and JJ Bleday that likely would have gone out in those previous conditions. According to Statcast, Soderstrom¡¯s flyout in the third inning -- which was struck 106.1 mph off the bat and traveled 407 feet ¨C would have gone out in 11 of 30 Major League parks.
¡°This ballpark played a lot different today, didn¡¯t it?¡± Kotsay said. ¡°We saw a couple of balls hit today on our side offensively ¡ 106 [mph] to center field -- We saw [a ball] hit 102 [mph on] opening night go out off the batter¡¯s eye. It definitely showed a different element.
¡°That¡¯s why [Tuesday] night when the question was asked how the ballpark played, we don¡¯t know. We found out today that the winds change a different direction, and that impacted the ball flight.¡±