Chicago Cubs Spoil A's Opening Night in Sacramento

The stage was set in Sacramento, California at Sutter Health Park on Monday evening for A's Opening Night festivities. The rain held off and it turned out to be a crisp and cool spring evening in the capital city. However, the Chicago Cubs poured on what ended up being 18 runs in a dominant victory over the Athletics.

RHP Joey Estes seemed to struggle from the jump, and the Cubs took advantage scoring four runs early, including back-to-back home runs in the first inning. A's manager Mark Kotsay said after the game that Estes was basically working with one pitch, and also dealing with a dip in velocity.

"I think the velo was down. It's a concern a little bit. First night out on the mound for him, he didn't have command. The sweeper wasn't there. No secondary. Had to rely on basically the fastball, which he couldn't command tonight."

His fastball was sitting at right about 90.5 miles per hour, which was down two full ticks from last season. Estes finished the night with four innings pitched, nine hits allowed, six earned runs, four walks and two strikeouts. He also allowed three home runs.

Kotsay also mentioned that nobody he went to last night out of the bullpen was able to execute pitches the way they needed, so the performance of Estes was a little less of a concern than the dip in velo.

The A's gave their home fans some exciting moments such as Jacob Wilson's first career home run which brought the crowd to its feet. It was a special moment for him and everyone at the ballpark as we witnessed one of many home run celebrations to come.

The cheers were short lived as the Cubs continued to pile on. There were a handful of players (Carson Kelly, Kyle Tucker) who have come through Sutter Health Park in the past on the minor league circuit now in their Major League uniforms.

They seemed all too familiar with the confines of Sutter Health Park as Kelly went 4-for-4 and hit for the cycle, becoming the first Cubs player to do so in 32 years. The two combined for eight RBI in the win.

The A's will look to bounce back Tuesday evening and hopefully some of those Opening Night jitters will be out of the way. RHP Luis Severino will make his debut in front of the Sacramento crowd against LHP Justin Steele. First pitch is at 7:05pm.