A Nice and Easy Win

It's been awhile since the Royals took a lead relatively early and just ran with it.

On the surface, a 4-1 win looks like something that probably doesn’t have many storylines with it, but there was a lot to talk about with this one. Some of it came before the game with some moves to alter the lineup when they activated Michael Massey off the IL and called up CJ Alexander to make his big league debut, which moved Maikel Garcia to second base. Some of it was Cole Ragans and his dominance in six innings of work. And some of it was just how badly the Royals needed to score a run after getting shut out in the series' final two games against the Rangers.

When a team wins, it’s easy to take it for granted in a game like last night. They get some good starting pitching, the bullpen holds it down and the offense hits a few home runs to get the job done. But when a team is losing, boy, does a game like last night feel satisfying. It’s not as satisfying as the 11-0 win in the third game of the season, but it’s still pretty darn satisfying. Normally I think I’d go chronologically and start with the pregame decisions they made, but today I want to talk about Ragans and his ridiculous outing because he was the star of the game.