By admin 
The Athletics’ second season in the Sacramento region came to an end Sunday with a shutout loss.
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The A’s fell to the Houston Astros 9-0 at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. The Astros clinched the American League West during the game when the Minnesota Twins defeated the Texas Rangers. Houston won the division for the fifth time in six seasons despite finishing 81-81, becoming the first MLB team to win a division with a record of .500 or worse.
The Athletics ended the season with 64 wins and 98 losses — a .395 winning percentage — despite a promising outlook at the beginning of the season.
On Sunday, the Athletics were unable to score against Houston. Lawrence Butler had two of the A’s five hits.
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While the Athletics originally planned to play three seasons in Sacramento before their move to Las Vegas, Sunday’s game could have been their last in West Sacramento as ongoing negotiations between MLB owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association threatened to disrupt the 2027 season.
According to previous Bee reporting, one of the key issues in negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement was the owners’ desire for a salary cap — which the players said was a non-starter. If the labor talks reached an impasse, it could have meant no MLB season in 2027 — or an abbreviated one.
But the capital region still had hopes of keeping Major League Baseball, as local officials launched a bid for an expansion team in May. The bid faced significant barriers, however. The effort lacked a lead investor for a team ownership group, and other cities were competing for an expansion franchise.
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Take a look at photos from Sunday’s game.