Cole Blooded

The Royals ace did what aces do and kept them close to the Twins and from getting swept in a big series.

The series' first two games against the Twins went about as poorly as possible. So, as the Royals did last week when they needed to avoid a sweep against their closest competitor, they turned to Cole Ragans to avoid a sweep against the team they’re currently chasing in the standings. Last week, Ragans was good, not great. Yesterday, Ragans was great. Both Brady Singer and Seth Lugo entered this series with ERAs lower than what Ragans has put up this year, and even after a terrible outing on Tuesday, Lugo is still lower. Still, Ragans is the ace of this staff, and he showed it yesterday afternoon.

Early on, it was as good as he’s looked all season, and I don’t say that hyperbolically. He gave up one hit over six innings against Detroit earlier this year with 12 strikeouts. That game was close. His start in Boston last month was close, but those first three innings showed the guy who many thought would be a legitimate Cy Young candidate (he has like eight starts left…you never know, it could still happen). His velocity seemed mostly back, which was nice to see with him pitching on six days’ rest rather than the typical four.