Royals pitch shutout, pull ahead of Twins with 5-0 victory
Cole Ragans shoved and Michael Massey provided the lumber.
The Royals got brilliant pitching from Cole Ragans and three relievers, and Michael Massey collected three hits including a home run, as the Royals defeated the Twins 5-0 to pull ahead in the Wild Card race.
Kansas City got on the board in the third against Twins rookie Zebby Matthews. Tommy Pham continued to be a sparkplug for the Royals, doubling home Kyle Isbel to make it 1-0 Royals. Michael Massey homered in the fourth, a solo shot that was his 12th of the year.
Michael Massey interrupts Brady Singer's #FridayNightBaseball interview with good reason!
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Pham got the scoring again in the fifth when he reached on an infield grounder. After Bobby Witt Jr. hit into a force out and MJ Melendez singled, Hunter Renfroe drove in Witt on a single to make it 3-0 Royals.
Cole Ragans was solid all evening, looking like the Cole Ragans of old. His third strikeout of the game came in the third inning, and it made him the fifth pitcher in Royals history to strike out 200 hitters in a season, joining Bob Johnson (1970), Dennis Leonard (1977), Kevin Appier (1996), and Zack Greinke (2009).
The Twins had a chance to score in the fourth, when Kyle Farmer singled with two outs. Austin Martin doubled to left field, but the Royals quickly relayed the ball and Witt threw out Farmer as he attempted to score. Ragans tossed six shutout innings with seven strikeouts and one walk, his first start of 6+ innings with no runs allowed since May 22 against the Tigers.
The Royals manufactured a run in the eighth when Hunter Renfroe led off with a single. Pinch-runner Dairon Blanco advanced to second on a wild pitch, then aggressively advanced to third on a groundball to the left side. Yuli Gurriel’s sac fly scored him to make it 5-0 Royals.
James McArthur, Sam Long, and John Schrieber each pitched a 1-2-3 inning on relief to secure the victory. The Royals improve to 77-65 and take over the second Wild Card position. They’ll have a chance to expand their lead on the Twins tomorrow evening at 6:15 when Alec Marsh takes on Bailey Ober.