For the first month of the season, the Oakland A’s had one of the best lineups in baseball. By early May they were second in MLB in wRC+, and among the leaders in runs per game. Virtually every hitter in the lineup had an above-average line, and the whole group was rolling.
And then the clock struck midnight, and all at once the lineup fell silent. On April 27 they beat Dallas Keuchel and the Astros 8-1, an impressive feat against a recent Cy Young winner. In their next 11 games after that, they’ve managed only 26 total runs.