If the struggles of the A’s are something the team can get through, there will be no shortage of opportunities to get unfollowed in the days to come.

Friday night’s series opener in Minnesota is the start of not only a week-long road trip through the Midwest, but also the first of 15 games the A’s will play over a 13-day span. There are two doubleheaders sandwiched in the stretch following the lockdown-delayed start to the season.

Oh yeah, and the A’s head to that gauntlet against the Twins, Tigers and Angels on a six-game losing streak — their first homestand without a win of at least six games since the franchise arrived in Oakland there. is 54 years old.

In all, the A’s have lost nine of 11 since an encouraging 8-6 start. It all adds up to a 10-15 record before what is suddenly a very important streak of the season for the A’s, who play eight games over the next seven days at division leaders Minnesota and Detroit, then take first place. Angels and the Twins in a six-day, seven-game homestand before their next day off.

“These guys are fighting,” manager Mark Kotsay told reporters after the A’s 3-0 loss to the Rays on Wednesday. “They squeak. It’s part of the grind of the season. You are trying to weather the storm.

One of the reasons the A’s should be encouraged to embark on the journey is that, so far, they’ve been a better team on the road. They should also have outfielder Ramon Laureano back in the roster by the end of the weekend.

The A’s were one of the majors’ biggest surprises in the first week of the season, going 5-5 on a season-opening trip through Philadelphia, Tampa and Toronto. They even shared a series in San Francisco last week.

Much like their previous three road opponents, the Twins look like playoff contenders. Minnesota went 11-3 to move into first place in the AL Central after losing eight of its first 12 games.

The Twins win despite some major injuries. They were already without slugger Alex Kirilloff and starting pitchers Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda, but recently lost third baseman Miguel Sano to knee surgery and Carlos Correa, the former Astros shortstop the Twins signed to a $105.3 million free agent deal over the winter, injured his hand after being hit by a pitch.

The Twins still have star outfielder Byron Buxton and promoted top prospect Jose Miranda, cousin of actor and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, to play first base. With Correa sidelined, the Twins called up Royce Lewis, another top prospect, to play shortstop.

The A’s aren’t at full strength either, which impacted nearly every part of the operation. The rotation, bullpen and defense struggled and the offense was unable to compensate. The A’s have scored two or less in nine of their last 13 games.

Southpaw Cole Irvin, who got off to a strong start (2-1, 2.93) and was expected to pitch Game 1 of the series, left for IL with shoulder pain.

But there is help on the way in the form of Laureano, who has been suspended since last August for PED use. Laureano played seven games with the A’s in abbreviated spring training, then moved to their Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas late last month. After a slow start, Laureano appears to be getting back into shape. His average hovered around .100, but Laureano had hit base in nine straight games through Thursday and had scored 10 points in his first 10 games with the Aviators.

He is eligible to play in the series finale on Sunday and should slide to right field so Cristian Pache can continue playing at center. That is, unless the A’s think Pache, a key player acquired from Atlanta in the Matt Olson trade, might need to return to the minors. Pache, 23, saw his average drop to 0.177 after going 1 for 18 at home.

Figure A’s will be shuttling players from the majors to Triple-A Las Vegas during this time. They’ll likely need a new arm for the doubleheader in Detroit on May 10, and again for the May 14 home doubleheader against the Angels.