LAS VEGAS — The Athletics are getting a taste of what full-time residency in Southern Nevada might feel like. A sellout crowd of 10,747 packed Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday as the A’s faced the Los Angeles Angels in the first of two Big League Weekend exhibition games.
Though the A’s fell 3-0, the energy in the stands signaled a fan base eager for the team’s planned 2028 opening at a new ballpark on the Strip.
Devin Ray, a Las Vegas resident of 18 years, attended with his daughters after stopping at a fan festival in Downtown Summerlin for a photo with mascot Stomper. Ray, who traded his Orioles allegiance for green and gold, said, “Now that we’re natives — I’ve got my kids born here — anything that comes here, we want to jump in and be a part of. We’re excited to see that new stadium.”
Justin Clemente, wearing a gray Lawrence Butler jersey, and his girlfriend Cristine Zuniga moved from San Jose in 2022 and have already signed up for season tickets. “Seeing the construction progress after years of a stadium stalemate in Oakland has them excited for A’s baseball,” they said.
Not all California transplants are fully on board. Mechelle Hickey, a Summerlin resident and lifelong A’s fan from Oakland, is cautiously optimistic but worries about Strip traffic. “It’s going to be hard for actual fans to go to the games,” said Hickey, an Aviators season ticket holder. “No locals like going to the Strip, unless they do a charter bus like they do the (Golden) Knights games.”
Jump’s debut
Left-hander Gage Jump, the A’s No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, started and pitched 3.2 innings, allowing one run on one hit with one strikeout and two walks. He took the loss. Ryan Johnson earned the win for the Angels with four shutout innings.
Jump said the lively crowd didn’t faze him: “First time here, first time in Vegas, so I’m kinda taking everything all in, but it was a good crowd today. I try to take every game as the same, crowd or no crowd, and it’s always the same intensity.”
The Angels broke a scoreless tie in the fourth when A’s center fielder Junior Perez lost a fly ball by Oswald Peraza in the sun, allowing Wade Meckler and Kyren Paris to score. Nick Madrigal added an RBI single in the fifth.
Jacob Wilson, the 2025 AL All-Star starter at shortstop, went 1-for-3 with a double. First baseman Nick Kurtz, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, also was 1-for-3.
Building bonds
The A’s have deepened their ties to Las Vegas since making the Aviators their top affiliate in 2019. Manager Mark Kotsay bought a house in Henderson last year. Wilson, who signed a seven-year extension last month, said, “We love this place. It’s a great city, and a great sports city now, with all the teams coming here. … It’s exciting as a player, seeing where the team is heading.”
Wilson, Butler, Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker recently toured the new ballpark site, the Neon Museum, the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign and Red Rock Canyon.
The Athletics conclude Big League Weekend on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. against the Angels, then return to Las Vegas Ballpark for regular-season games against the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies in June.
