OAKLAND, Calif. -- — Sonny Gray struck out six and didn't walk a batter over six scoreless innings to beat his former club with career win No. 100, and Willson Contreras doubled twice and drove in a run for the St. Louis Cardinals in their 3-1 win against the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.

Nolan Arenado hit an RBI single in the first to stake Gray (2-0) to an early lead against an Oakland team that had won three of four and drew a crowd of 5,508.

With the A's set to play the next three seasons in Sacramento, Gray realized this was likely his last time taking the Coliseum mound. He earned his first career win here on August 15, 2013, against the Astros.

“I’ve made so many starts here and just knowing the whole week that this is probably the last one that you’ll have, probably the last time we’ll ever play here, it was pretty special," he said. “To me, it had a lot more meaning than just a game in the middle of whatever month it is.”

Esteury Ruiz was called up by Oakland shortly before first pitch from Triple-A Las Vegas and hit a pinch homer in the eighth.

Gray — who had been set to be the Cardinals' opening day starter before straining his right hamstring in his second spring outing — surrendered four hits in his impressive first road start of 2024 with his new club.

“It was special for him because this is win No. 100 and to get his first one here and his 100th here, it was pretty cool,” manager Oli Marmol said. “He did a really nice job.”

If Gray continues to do well physically, his pitch count will be increased by 10-15 next time.

Closer Ryan Helsley struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his sixth save in a game that lasted 2:19.

A's starter Ross Stripling (0-4) left in the sixth and gave way to Michael Kelly, who immediately gave up an RBI single to Jordan Walker. Stripling has allowed 32 hits over his initial four starts since the A's acquired the right-hander in a trade from the Giants.

Zack Gelof had a pair of hits for the A's, who took two of three from the Nationals at home over the weekend and have won three straight series for the first time since May 31-June 16, 2021, when they had five victorious sets in a row.

These clubs hadn't played in Oakland since 2019 and the A's had won the previous three at home in the interleague matchup.

Longtime San Francisco Giants shortstop and fan favorite Brandon Crawford was back in his native Bay Area in his first season as a backup for the Cardinals.

“I don’t know if it’s a change of scenery that’s what I needed or wanted or anything like that necessarily,” he said in the dugout before the game. “I’m happy ... the role that I’m in here is tough, it’s definitely a new challenge, trying to stay ready to face major league pitching, play good defense at shortstop while only playing every four to seven days. It’s definitely hard.”

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Tommy Edman (sprained right wrist) started to take dry swings and was set to hit off a tee Tuesday. ... RHP Kenyan Middleton has started playing catch in his recovery from a flexor strain in his pitching arm.

Athletics: 3B J.D. Davis had an MRI exam for his strained groin that came back showing no structural damage, but he went on the 10-day injured list. Ruiz was in the Oakland clubhouse, took batting practice and was called back up to fill the roster spot shortly before first pitch.

UP NEXT

RHP Lance Lynn (0-0, 2.63 ERA) pitches the middle game of the series for St. Louis opposite LHP JP Sears (1-1, 5.17).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

WEST SACRAMENTO — On both sides of the Sacramento River, proud residents of this region want the world to know: This is a sports town that is primed to succeed where Oakland failed.

So when the A’s migrate 86 miles northeast next year — abandoning the country’s largest ballpark, left largely vacant by a jaded fanbase — they should expect to be greeted with open arms by a community aching to prove it deserves more than just three or four years of their time.

West Sacramento, home to the ballpark where the A’s will play, is not actually in the city of Sacramento — or even in Sacramento County, for that matter. It’s a sleepy Yolo County city of about 50,000 just across the river from its urban namesake, which is five times larger.

But here, in both this riverfront community and the unsung state capital that it neighbors, exists an earnestness that now feels foreign in Oakland.

Major professional sports in Sacramento are not seen through the lens of wealthy franchise owners dangling nostalgia as an excuse to run a perennially disappointing baseball franchise.

To the people of this region, the promise of a Major League Baseball team is instead an opportunity to nudge the region forward in its ambitions of being taken seriously, both economically and culturally, as a California metropolis.

On Thursday, after a fairly quiet lunch hour at Kin Thai Street Eatery in the city’s midtown — which is slowly recovering from a loss of bustle during the pandemic — a lifelong A’s fan and Sacramento native working the counter had high hopes for his favorite team’s arrival.

“I watch every single year, and it sucks when they lose and trade away all our good players,” said Daniel Samas as he cleaned a table. “But no, I’m excited for them to play here. We need some more exciting things to do in Sacramento.”

The way sports has galvanized the city was especially apparent in the Downtown Commons, where residents attribute a recent revitalization of the district to Vivek Ranadive, the owner of their beloved basketball team, the Kings.

“I think keeping (the Kings) here revamped our downtown and … uplifted an area of the city that was dilapidated,” said Jason Duvall, a Sacramento resident hanging out at Henry’s Lounge, a midtown sports bar. “You know Gotham after the bad guy comes through? That’s kind of how it was. There was nothing going on down there.”

Many envision Sacramento as a cultural success story in the making that can fully blossom when another major sports franchise arrives.

In some cases, these residents are able to balance that hope with real empathy for Oaklanders who are heartbroken about the A’s departure.

“When a team leaves, they aren’t really rooted there anymore, and it changes their identity,” said 18-year-old Dominic Godi, who stood outside the Golden 1 Center, just before the Kings were set to play a game that held high stakes over their postseason fortunes. “I think it’s sad the A’s are leaving Oakland; the owners don’t care about the fanbase.”

But in more conservative corners of Sacramento, locals are quick to cast the jilted East Bay city as having blown its chance at retaining its sports teams, despite millions of dollars in grant money officials there raised to support a new waterfront stadium development.

The Coliseum “is almost 60 years old; it was never going to work,” said Brian Smithey, an A’s fan since they first arrived in Oakland in 1968 who’s now excited about the relocation.

This perception appears to persist even amid a large influx of Bay Area transplants who moved to Sacramento during the pandemic. The A’s are hardly the only ones to make the journey; the spokesperson and city manager of West Sacramento are native to Vallejo and San Jose, respectively.

Sacramento culture is “being more diluted every day,” said Kings fan Barry Brun. “They’re bringing the Bay Area culture here.” His partner, Nancy Wynn, jumped in: “Some of it is good! But I guess that’s the growing pains of growing more populous.”

Meanwhile, despite its unique riverfront, the heart of West Sacramento is akin to the sprawling commercial district of a suburb, packed with fast-food places, wide roadways and a successive run of strip malls.

Tucked within one of those giant plazas is the Kick’n Mule Restaurant and Sports Bar, a prime spot to watch games. On Thursday afternoon, the owner and manager were busy plotting business strategies for the upcoming A’s era as sporting events played out overhead across numerous television screens.

Would serving calamari, they wondered, help attract Bay Area crowds who might pre-game there before heading to the nearby ballpark?

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Baseball fans arrive to watch the River Cats play the El Paso Chihuahuas during a game at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, Calif., on Thursday, April 11, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

“Whether the A’s stay or go, we’ll earn the popularity and volume while they’re here and capitalize on that,” said the owner, Ravi Ram. He added later about Oakland, “You just hear about all the bad vibes there; I avoid it these days.”

Ironically, Oakland and Sacramento seem to share in the underdog spirit commonly found in mid-major cities trying to subvert the reputations that precede them: Sacramento as sleepy and uninspiring, Oakland as dangerous and dysfunctional.

Ranadive, who resides in Atherton, sold his minority share in the Golden State Warriors last decade to become majority owner of the Kings, keeping the NBA franchise in Sacramento after the previous owners had tried to facilitate a relocation to Seattle or even, for a few dramatic days, to Virginia.

The city contributed $223 million to the Golden 1 Center’s construction through bonds and other new fees — an initiative ushered along by former Mayor Kevin Johnson, a retired NBA all-star.

Ranadive, meanwhile, was an architect of the new A’s deal to play rent-free in the 10,000-seat West Sacramento ballpark, which hosts another team he owns, the Giants’ triple-A minor-league affiliate River Cats.

ESPN reported this week that Ranadive, a friend of A’s owner John Fisher, is privately wagering that the A’s vision of constructing a Vegas ballpark ultimately crumbles and the team winds up staying for a much longer term.

“We do see it as an opportunity to showcase to Major League Baseball and the world what can be done at Sutter Health Park, and brand ourselves as a place that can support a sports team,” Aaron Laurel, the West Sacramento city manager, said in an interview.

Unlike the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the A’s will not be known as the Sacramento A’s of West Sacramento when they arrive, but instead simply as the Athletics — a team from nowhere, in transit.

But if the A’s do eventually want to stay in the Sacramento area, they would likely want to build a new stadium rather than continue at Sutter Health Park, where at full capacity 4,000 fans would crowd an outfield lawn that saw just a few dozen scattered on picnic blankets during an evening River Cats home game.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing all-stars play in my backyard,” said Chris Holdaway, who sat on the grass with his 10-month-old daughter, Emilia. “But yeah, this place will get pretty busy.”

The walkways of the stadium’s clean, understated concourse were filled with hip-hop and country music alike as the River Cats readied for a Thursday game against the El Paso Chihuahuas.

Amid a sea of black River Cats merchandise was a man in a familiar, unmistakably green-and-white SELL T-shirt — the all-caps directive that summarizes the Oakland fans’ message this past year to Fisher, the A’s owner.

Carter White, a Richmond resident who commutes to Davis for work and often stops by River Cats games afterward, waited patiently for a teenage girl in a cowboy hat to finish a rendition of the national anthem on the field as some fans clutched their chests and sang along.

White then returned to bashing Fisher, vowing to never watch another A’s game while the team is owned by the man who took it away from Oakland.

“The idea with Sacramento is it’s not the Bay Area,” White said of the two regions’ dynamics. “I don’t think Oakland has the same insecurity toward San Francisco as the perception in Sacramento.”

What followed that night was a high-scoring contest typical of the minor leagues: the River Cats fell behind 7-1 early, and by the fifth inning some fans were headed back to the enormous parking lot. As she strolled out, one woman told an usher, “I hope they have better luck after we leave!”

By nightfall, her hopes had come true; the River Cats stormed back to clinch a 10-9 victory over the Chihuahuas — a fitting comeback for a city with much bigger sports dreams, where giving up on a team is the only sign of defeat.

The Oakland Athletics wrapped-up a three-game interleague series with the Washington Nationals today at the Oakland Coliseum. Lefty Alex Wood got the start for Mark Kotsay’s A’s and faced Righty Trevor Williams for the Nats.

With one out in the top of the third inning Wood walked Trey Lipscomb. Shea Langeliers threw a bullet to nab him stealing. Wood then hit Jacob Young. CJ Abrams then doubled driving Young to third. Joey Meneses grounded out to JD Davis allowing Young to score and Abrams to advance to third. Wood walked Jesse Winker. Lane Thomas singled to drive in Abrams and move Winker to third. He walked Joey Gallo but then got Ildemaro Vargas to line out to end the rally. At the end of three, The Nats led 2-0.

Riley Adams doubled to lead off the top of the fourth. Jacob Young doubled to drive in Adams. JD Davis made a great over the shoulders catch on an Abrams pop up to save further damage. But the A’s trailed 3-0 heading to the bottom of the fourth.

JJ Bleday singled for the second time today in the bottom of the fourth inning but was stranded there at the end of the inning. Lane Thomas led off the fifth with a solo homer. After a Vargas single, Kotsay ended Wood’s Day and brought in Mitch Spence. A Gelof to Noda double play ended the inning. Lawrence Butler ripped a double to right, missing a homer by inches. Shea Langeliers singled to bring Butler home without a throw.

Trey Lipscomb led off the sixth with a base hit. He scored on a bloop single by Joey Meneses. Jesse Winker singled to move Meneses to third. Lane Thomas kept his big day going with an RBI single to drive in Meneses. Midway through the sixth, the Nationals held a 6-1 lead. The A’s chased Williams in the bottom of the sixth following a Toro base on balls and then a JJ Bleday double. With runners on second and third, Derek Law replaced Williams. Seth Brown struck out for the third time today, but Tyler Nevin singled to right field to drive in Toro and move Bleday to third. Butler singled to score Bleday and move Nevin to third. A Law wild pitch allowed Nevin to score and moved Butler to second. Langeliers drew a walk. Ryan Noda battled for a walk to load the bases. That brought Dave Martinez out of the dugout again, this time to bring in Jordan Weems to pitch to Darell Hernaiz. Hernaiz worked a walk to drive in the A’s fifth run of the day. With two outs and runners on the move, Toro blooped a single to left that drove in two. Gelof grounded into a force at second to end the inning, but not before the A’s took the lead for the first time today 7-6.

Dany Jiménez entered the game in the top of the seventh. Jiménez worked around Riley Adams’ second double of the day to shut the Nationals down in his half of the seventh. Dylan Floro entered the game for the Nationals. Floro caught his former Marlins teammate JJ Bleday looking for the first out, but then gave up singles to Seth Brown and Tyler Nevin and then walked Butler to load the bases. But Langeliers grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Lucas Erceg took the mound in the eighth inning. He walked CJ Abrams after getting ahead 0-2. But a slick DP by Gelof at second and Ryan Noda stretching at first cleared the bases. Speaking of slickness, Erceg made a play reminiscent of Miami Jai-Alai to swipe the ball over to Noda to end the inning.

Mason Miller replaced Erceg in the ninth. He struck out hot-hitting Lane Thomas and then Joey Gallo. Luis García Jr. came in to pinch hit with two down. In fine Miller-time fashion, he struck out Garcia too to end the game and give the A’s their third consecutive series win; their first at home this year.

Pitcher Ken Holtzman, who helped the Oakland Athletics win three straight World Series championships in the 1970s, died Sunday after dealing with heart issues. He was 78.

Holtzman combined with Catfish Hunter and Vida Blue to give the A’s one of the most dynamic rotations of the era.

“We are saddened by the passing of former A’s pitcher Ken Holtzman,” the A’s said in a statement, adding the left-hander “created lasting memories for our franchise. We send our deepest condolences to his three daughters, Robyn, Stacy, and Lauren; his four grandchildren; and all who loved him.”

A native of St. Louis, Holtzman was drafted in 1965 by the Cubs, with whom he threw two no-hitters, and was traded after the 1971 season to Oakland for outfielder Rick Monday. Holtzman spent four of his 15 MLB seasons with the A’s, winning 77 games, sporting a 2.92 ERA and getting selected to two All-Star teams. He started all three of Oakland’s World Series Game 1s and went 4-1 with a 2.55 ERA in eight World Series games.

In 1973, Hunter, Blue and Holtzman all were 20-game winners. Blue threw the hardest by far. Hunter, a Hall of Famer, had excellent control. Holtzman had a big, slow curve and also good command.

“We had a little different styles, all of us,” Holtzman said in a 2003 Chronicle interview. “Maybe one thing we had in common is we challenged hitters, didn’t walk a lot of guys, made them hit it.”

The 1970s A’s won five division titles in a row, and their three consecutive World Series championships came against the Reds (seven games), Mets (seven) and Dodgers (five). The only other team in MLB history to win at least three straight World Series titles was the Yankees, who did it three times.

“If there’s one thing you can say about that team, I thought they were bloodthirsty to win; they needed to win,” Holtzman said. “We believed winning the second, third year put a kind of mark of legitimacy on that team.”

As much as the A’s enjoyed winning, they also were known for their in-house fighting. One brawl in particular, Holtzman was a witness. Before a game in Detroit, he was playing bridge with a few teammates when Reggie Jackson and Billy North started fighting. But the card game went on.

“I had a damn good hand — a once-in-a-month hand — and I was going to stay with it,” Holtzman said. “I didn’t really give a damn if Billy and Reggie were kicking the crap out of each other for half an hour.”

After the championship era, then-owner Charlie Finley began to move all his stars and traded both Holtzman and Reggie Jackson to Baltimore at the start of the 1976 season. Holtzman also pitched for the Yankees (winning a fourth World Series in 1977) and again the Cubs and went 174-150 with a 3.49 ERA and 1,601 strikeouts in 451 games (410 starts).

Holtzman is MLB’s winningest Jewish pitcher, having nine more victories than Dodgers’ Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, who had 165.

Reach John Shea: [email protected]; Twitter: @JohnSheaHey

April 15: 3B J.D. Davis (right groin strain) placed on injured list; OF Esteury Ruiz recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas After exiting Sunday’s 7-6 win over the Nationals with a right groin strain, Davis was placed on the 10-day injured list on Monday. The third baseman was hitting .196 with two home runs and two RBIs in 14 games.

Ruiz, who began the season on Oakland’s Opening Day roster, returns from Triple-A Las Vegas after getting optioned down on April 1. In 11 games with Las Vegas, he batted .326 with three homers, eight RBIs and seven stolen bases.

• All Athletics transactions

3B J.D. Davis (right groin strain) Expected return: TBD Davis landed on the injured list on April 15 due to a right groin strain that he sustained while chasing down a fly ball during a game against the Nationals on April 14. There is no timetable for his return. (Last updated: April 15)

OF Brent Rooker (costochondral cartilage) Expected return: April 17 Rooker, whose IL placement is retroactive to April 8, has begun total body workouts and will begin taking some dry swings in the next few days, which gives manager Mark Kotsay hope that Rooker could return to the club once eligible on April 17. (Last updated: April 12)

RHP Freddy Tarnok (right hip inflammation) Expected return: TBD Tarnok received a cortisone injection to address scar tissue built up in his left hip and is expected to begin throwing off a mound at some point during the week of April 15. There is no timetable for a return to game action at this time. (Last updated: April 12)

OF Miguel Andujar (right knee) Expected return: May Andujar, who underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee on March 27, has begun playing catch and will begin a running and hitting progression the week of April 15. Originally given a recovery timeline of at least four to six weeks, Andujar is expected to join the big league club once healthy, though he will likely require a Minor League rehab assignment before making his A’s debut. (Last updated: April 12)

LHP Scott Alexander (stress reaction in left rib) Expected return: TBD Alexander is expected to throw a bullpen session the week of April 15 for the first time since Spring Training. There is still no timeline for a return. (Last updated: April 12)

RHP Luis Medina (Grade 2 MCL sprain) Expected return: June Medina, who opened the season on the injured list due to a right knee MCL sprain he sustained during his Cactus League outing on March 4, has started a running progression and is expected to throw off a mound the week of April 15. The 24-year-old right-hander was moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL on April 11. (Last updated: April 12)

INF Aledmys Díaz (right calf strain) Expected return: TBD Díaz started a running progression on April 12, which A’s manager Mark Kotsay said is “the most important part” of his recovery from a right calf strain that his sidelined him since March 12 during Spring Training. The infielder continues partaking in minimal baseball activity with no timetable for a return at this time. (Last updated: April 12)

LHP Ken Waldichuk (left elbow sprain) Expected return: June Waldichuk, whom the A’s placed on the 60-day IL on Feb. 14, threw a 25-pitch bullpen session on April 12. How his elbow responds could determine when the A’s might send Waldichuk out on a rehab assignment. (Last updated: April 12)

RHP Trevor Gott (Tommy John surgery) Expected return: 2025 After feeling discomfort following his Cactus League outing on March 16 against the Brewers, MRI results revealed a full tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in Gott’s right elbow. He is set to undergo Tommy John surgery, which will cause him to miss the entirety of the 2024 season. (Last updated: March 24)

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LHP Sean Newcomb (left knee irritation) Expected return: TBD Newcomb will begin a throwing progression the week of April 15. The left-hander, who was in line to begin the season as a member of the A’s bullpen, has been shut down from throwing since the final week of Spring Training. (Last updated: April 12)