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Joe Espada's full-circle moment in Sacramento
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On May 15, 2000, a new minor-league ballpark near the Sacramento River hosted its first game.
Raley Field, as it was called then, opened as the home of the Triple-A affiliate of the major-league A's. It put players one level below the majors some 90 minutes from the big-league club in Oakland. A crowd of 14,111 convened on a Monday night to mark their arrival.
The Sacramento River Cats' second baseman in that game? Joe Espada.
Twenty-five years later, Espada will return to that ballpark now a major-league manager. The itinerant A's are in their first season occupying it as a temporary home until their (supposed) relocation to Las Vegas in 2028. The Houston Astros will visit for a four-game series starting Monday.
For Espada, it will mark something of a full-circle moment. A second-round draft pick of the A's in 1996, Espada climbed as high as Triple-A without reaching the majors as a player. He spent 40 games with the River Cats in 2000, including the home opener, a 2-1 loss to Edmonton.
If mid-May sounds late for a home opener, it was. Raley Field was not finished in time for the start of the 2000 season, so the River Cats played their first 37 games that year on the road.
"When we got back, we were super excited, obviously," Espada recalled. "How clean and how new the stadium was, the excitement of the fans, I remember that. The fans were ready for us to be there but also for a brand-new stadium. And the energy was great."
According to a box score in the Sacramento Bee, Espada went 1-for-3 with a double in the game. The Bee also noted that the "first boo" in the ballpark's history occurred when home-plate umpire Rob Drake rung Espada up on a called third strike in his first at-bat.
Espada, coincidentally, was one of three future Astros managers in the River Cats' lineup that day. A.J. Hinch, drafted a round after Espada in 1996, started at catcher. Hinch managed Houston from 2015-19. And Bo Porter, who managed the Astros in 2013-14, started in center field.
Espada recalled he and Hinch roomed together on the road during the River Cats' long season-opening trip, which included a series at the Oakland Coliseum. A Sacramento Bee story from spring training that year featured a quote from Espada about the 40-day road trip:
"It sounds crazy," Espada told The Bee. "The good news is, we get to play in Oakland. I wish we could stay there longer — like the rest of our careers."
The 2000 season proved Espada's last in the A's system. He played parts of four more seasons in affiliated ball, and two in independent ball, before moving into his coaching career.
The River Cats, meanwhile, are now the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants — making sharing their ballpark with the A's all the more unusual. The A's have struggled in their new environs, carrying a 12-23 home record into their series against Houston, while allowing an average of 6.5 runs per game there.
"I've seen that sometimes — even when I played (there) — the ball travels well," Espada said. "I'm hearing from other players and getting feedback from other coaches that the surface is nice and playing well. So, I'm actually looking forward to a trip to Sac."
 | Matt Kawahara, Astros Beat Writer |
Photo by: Susan Barber, Cat DeLaura
A weekly stock market-style report on the Astros' key players.
Up: Yainer Diaz
Diaz's numbers still reflect an awful April, but his offensive production has ticked upward of late. Over his past 10 games, Diaz is 13-for-40 with five extra-base hits, raising his OPS from .635 to .677.
Most of Diaz's hits in that span have been up the middle or to the opposite field. Espada pointed out that occurs when Diaz is staying back on the ball and not diving at pitches and rolling them over.
Espada moved Diaz up to the second spot in his order with Isaac Paredes sidelined by a hamstring strain, a show of confidence in his recent trajectory. Diaz is batting .279 since May 1.
Down: Victor Caratini
Caratini was the more productive of Houston's two catchers for the first two months but has authored a slow start to June. The switch-hitter is 3-for-35 through his first 10 games this month.
Caratini's at-bats have remained competitive and he offers balance regardless to a heavily right-handed Astros lineup. Despite his slump, Caratini still entered Sunday with a 92 OPS-plus.
Espada has paired two starters almost solely with Caratini. Lance McCullers Jr. has thrown exclusively to Caratini since his return. Rookie Colton Gordon has worked with Caratini in four of his six outings.
Quote of the Week
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Framber Valdez struck out 12 hitters in a five-inning start Thursday against the White Sox in what Espada termed an "odd night" for the ground-ball specialist.
It was also a unique one in franchise history.
Valdez is the only Astros pitcher to strike out 12 or more hitters in a start of five or fewer innings. There have been just two such starts in the majors this season — Arizona's Eduardo Rodriguez had the other — and 19 since the start of the 2015 season, according to Baseball Reference.
Three Astros pitchers have recorded 11 strikeouts in a five-inning start — Cristian Javier on Sept. 20, 2023; Justin Verlander on Aug. 11, 2019; and Nolan Ryan on June 28, 1987.
Top stories we're watching...
- Hunter Brown struck out a career-high 12 in Houston's win over Minnesota. His strikeout rate is among the top five in the majors.
- Ryan Gusto gave the Astros the start they needed, pitching six innings for the first time to help beat the White Sox and make his case to stay in the rotation.
- Former Astros pitcher Wade Miley was named in a lawsuit involving the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, a former teammate who died after a drug overdose in 2019 when Miley was pitching for Houston.
Player spotlight
Photo by: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer
Jose Altuve spent most of Houston's homestand on a tear. He went 8-for-14 with five extra-base hits over the first four games against the White Sox and Twins. In his last 21 games, Altuve is 29-for-81, a .358 average. He has raised his OPS from .629 to .747 during that span.
Changes to Houston's roster have altered Altuve's role some. He has started just two games since June 1 in left field, making five starts at second base and four at designated hitter in that stretch. The flexibility Altuve has shown should not be overlooked in the Astros' first half.
"I think whatever they give me, I'm going to go out there and play," Altuve said Friday. "Obviously, we have a few injuries right now that we need to manage. I've just got to be available to be in the lineup, to play, and just continue to help the team."
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