Final Score: MIN 0 | KC 5

Overall Record: 77-65

Winning/Losing Pitcher

• W: Cole Ragans (11-9 | 3.33 ERA)
• L: Zebby Matthews (1-3 | 7.36 ERA)

Royals Player of the Game

Cole Ragans

6.0 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 7 K, BB

The Royals truly needed their ace in this one, and Cole Ragans did what all aces are supposed to do. Continue winning into the next day, stop the losing streak, and come up in the big games. Well, he was truly remarkable on Friday night for the entire baseball world to see on Apple TV. Ragans kept the Twins batters guessing the entire time. Being out in front, behind the fastball, chasing curves out of the zone, the dreaded changeup location, all were in full effect all night long. Cole Ragans is this teams’ foundational piece. And we already knew that, but it’s nice to call on your ace in big situations and him to come through. The Royals needed to make up some ground on a division foe, climb out of the hole they dug themselves, and they did that remarkably on Friday. One huge milestone for Ragans, is he hit 200 strikeouts this season in the third with his devastating changeup to Royce Lewis. He became just the fifth pitcher in Royals history to accomplish that feat, and the first left hander to ever do it. He is rewriting the history books in Kansas City, and he will be an essential piece to this core as long as he is here. And I hope that is for a long long time. 

Key Highlights

If I would tell you that Bobby Witt Jr and Salvador Perez went silent in this one, you would probably think it was a tough game to get anything across. Well, this time it was not the case. Of course the Royals were going against Zebby Matthews, but you can’t control the opponents that are put in front of you. This one was a culmination of all the OTHER great things about this Royals squad. We already spoke about the complete excellence of Cole Ragans in this one, but it is the performances from Michael Massey, Hunter Renfroe, and Tommy Pham that have me getting giddy. First the latter, Tommy Pham has been really incredible for this team as long as he’s been the leadoff hitter. It’s almost as if he was always destined to come here to KC. Even when he was sent to St. Louis at the deadline, he got quietly released, and found his way here to the Royals. He has been a sight for sore eyes in the leadoff spot, kind of finishing off this lineup in a weird way. Massey was fine in the leadoff spot, but I think Massey doesn’t hit as well from there, it’s almost as if he needs to be just a little deeper in the lineup to reach his full potential, we’ll get to that in a sec. But Tommy Pham has been the perfect puzzle piece to this lineup, he just puts together consistent at bats and seems to always hit the ball hard, regardless of pitcher. He finished with a couple of hits, starting the scoring with an RBI double up the left field line in the third. 

He also shined defensively, starting a relay to nab a runner at home plate in the top of the fourth. It was a perfect execution of a relay, with Bobby Witt Jr. supplying the powerful throw from the outfield grass to get Kyle Farmer at the plate. All that goes for not if Pham doesn’t get it cleanly in the outfield. On to Michael Massey, who had himself a day with three hits including an absolute missile to the right field bullpen in the fourth to make it a 2-0 game. 

We have been saying that we need someone to step up in the absence of Vinnie Pasquantino, and Massey could be that guy. He has serious pop to right field, and if he could keep hitting the way he did tonight, who knows what the ceiling for Michael Massey is. We all thought that he could break out in a big way, and without Vinnie, the breakout might be now. Another big piece that we need down the stretch is Hunter Renfroe, and he compiled a couple hits as well. Most importantly his two out two run single in the fifth to make the score 4-0. This one was crucial to put the game just a bit out of reach for the Twins, who basically threw in the towel after that one. Like Massey, Renfroe is a candidate to really break out now that Vinnie is gone, and the Royals really do need him. So look for a lot more things from Hunter Renfroe down the stretch. Yuli Gurriel also got in on the action with a sac fly in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 5-0, and that ended up being the final score. Gurriel does what he does, and that is understanding the situation, you could have way worse options out there at first right now. But overall, what a great win for Kansas City, who didn’t have to rely on their superstars to supply the offense. A few innings that will go unnoticed are the outings from James McArthur, Sam Long, and John Schreiber who all had a scoreless innings. Sure it was a scoreless game regardless, but the Twins are a playoff team right now, and those are crucial innings. They had a great start from their ace which helps, but it is so crucial to have others contribute that aren’t the big guys. 

Summary of the Next Game

The Royals will continue this important series against the Twins on Saturday, with Alec Marsh taking the mound for Kansas City. He has been here and there this season, with a 4.70 ERA in his 21 starts. He is still taking the place of Michael Lorenzen, who has been hurt here for a bit. Marsh was solid to start the season, but as all things go in baseball, it’s the adjustment to the adjustment. He has had a problem with that so far. The Twins will send out Bailey Ober who has been pretty solid for the Twinkies this year, he has a 3.95 ERA with a 12-6 record overall. Very solid numbers for a rotation that has needed him this year. The Royals have been very good against him this season though, with KC sporting a .487 average against Ober in his two starts against this year. Let’s hope that continues as the Royals need to continue to make up ground and keep taking series. If the season was to end today the Royals would own the second wild card spot. But unfortunately, the season is not ending today, so they will continue their drive to the postseason. And you might call me crazy, but this team could still win the division. 6:10p at Kauffman Stadium is when you can find the next one. Go support the boys, the energy in the stadium is unmatched right now. The game on Friday was electric in person, and we need to have all the energy we can for this team that needs some good spirits right now.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel