HOUSTON – April is over and the A’s have failed their first overall test of the American League West.
The first month of the season saw Oakland play 26 games, 23 of them against the AL West teams the A’s will have to beat to be competitive.
With Sunday’s 7-2 loss to the Astros, the A’s are 9-13 against the West and five games behind division-leading Houston. A year ago Oakland was heading into May with a 13-12 record and was 1½ games out of first – and that team went on to lose 93 games.
Part of the problem has been injuries.