Reliever Sean Newcomb is back in a familiar setting as Chicago White Sox visit Athletics
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sean Newcomb spent a portion of 2023 at Sutter Health Park while pitching for the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
He returned to the ballpark last season as a member of the Athletics, who currently call the stadium home.
The left-handed pitcher is getting a view as a visitor this weekend with the Chicago White Sox.
"It's cool to see the other side," Newcomb told the Tribune on Friday. "Cool to see what they've done with the clubhouse. It's a pretty good little space."
Newcomb signed a one-year deal with the Sox in the offseason. He has a 4.61 ERA in 10 relief appearances through Saturday, allowing seven earned runs on 15 hits with 13 strikeouts and five walks over 13 1/3 innings.
"He’s a guy that you can depend on in a lot of different situations," manager Will Venable said Friday. "If it lines up right, he can give you the length out of the bullpen - and quality length. At the same time, we’ve used him in leverage spots.
"(Thursday’s game) was a great example of his utility, where it was a little bit of a longer leverage spot for him but a really good spot where he came in and he pitched really well."
Newcomb had scoreless outings in three of his last four appearances entering Saturday, including striking out three in 1 2/3 innings Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rate Field.
"It's been going well," he said. "Even when … runs are scoring, it's a lot of weak contact. So good stuff to build on overall.
"My main thing is avoiding free passes, fill up the zone and weak contact. That usually leads to a lot of good things over the course of 162 (games)."
He wasn't as sharp Saturday, allowing one run on three hits in 1 1/3 innings.
He was one of nine pitchers the Sox used during a 6-5 victory against the Kansas City Royals on April 12 at Kauffman Stadium. While he wasn't as sharp that day, allowing two runs on one hit with a walk in one-third of an inning, Newcomb liked how the group as a whole stepped up.
According to STATS, the nine pitchers the Sox used tied a franchise record for a nine-inning game set on Sept. 14, 1997, against Cleveland.
"It was good for everyone to get their work in," Newcomb said. "I didn't have a particularly good one, but it was good for everyone to clock in. There's been some unorthodox games lately, so it was good to start pulling some of them out. Keep after it and over time those things will start to turn our way more and more."
It was an afternoon Newcomb believes could be beneficial for a player down the line.
"(I've) been around since 2017 and still see stuff every couple of weeks that I hadn't seen before, especially with the way the game has been changing over the past few years," he said. "Finishing up those days with a ‘W’ is always a plus."
Newcomb's journey has taken him to West Sacramento twice. He had a 1.75 ERA in 36 appearances last season with the A’s - including a 2.79 ERA in 23 home outings - after being acquired from the Boston Red Sox last May.
While he didn’t have a specific memory of his time at Sutter Health Park, Newcomb is happy to see how the A’s players continue to grow and said it’s relatable to his current team.
"Where they're at now, a lot of the hitters have been extended, all the pitchers are starting to find their ways," he said. "And it's cool to see the growth and how we can picture that here (with the Sox) too.
"The new wave of young talent is very similar. Everyone has been coming up over the years, and still a bunch coming. So it's cool to be a part of that."
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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 4:17 PM.