Cole Ragans Dazzles Again

With nothing left to play for, the Royals are fully looking to 2026 and getting their ace back to form is a big deal.

On Monday, I wrote that the Royals had been eliminated, but I completely overlooked the super likely possibility of a four-team tie. That possibility ended before the Royals took the field last night, so even though I jumped the gun, their chances officially died before they took the field. That means that everything that happens during this final week is in the name of putting up numbers that make people feel good this year and getting ready for next season. While last season is always preferred where every single game is meaningful, it’s not the worst thing in the world for this franchise that they’ll only play six games that have no impact on a potential postseason run. As I said a few days ago, it allows us to really appreciate the things that will matter moving forward.

One of those things that matters is Cole Ragans. As we all know, he basically had a lost year this year. He looked outstanding in his first four starts, but then had leg cramps that caused him to be skipped a start and then ultimately landed him on the IL. He came back from the IL to make one start and he landed back on the IL with a dreaded rotator cuff injury. It was 104 days between starts, but in the two he’s made since coming back, he looks pretty impressive. His first start saw him get nine whiffs against three batters in the first inning. I wrote after that one that it was probably the best inning I’ve ever seen pitched. I will stand by that. He was better overall last night.

The line was marred ever-so-slightly by a home run he allowed in the fifth inning to Bryce Teodosio, the first of his career, but you can’t complain about these numbers:

5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 10 K, 1 BB

And even though he didn’t have the magical inning of whiffs like he did against Seattle, he started another game impressively. He struck out three in the first and had a bloop single mixed in. Then he struck out the side in the second. It all started with his fastball, which was down just a touch, but he showed the ability to change speeds on it that we saw so much of last season.