Matt Chapman is familiar with slow starts for the A’s. In 2018, his first full season, the A’s started 4-8. They went on to finish 97-65. In his second full season, the A’s won just 14 of their first 33 games and at one point were 34-34. That team also ended up with 97 victories. The 2020 A’s soared to the front of the AL West with an early nine-game winning streak, but even that came after a 3-4 start.
But after a nightmarish first week of this season — a worse beginning than any that recently preceded it — no one could be blamed for wondering if the A’s poor play was a sign of things to come instead of a soon-to-be-forgotten blip. By any measure, the A’s had a bottom-two offense and pitching staff heading into Saturday’s game in Houston, a game they entered with a record of 2-7.
