In his first-ever post-season appearance, Cole Ragans cruised through six innings, holding the Baltimore Orioles to just four base runners while racking up eight strikeouts on 80 pitches.
But his night was cut short thanks to cramping in his left calf, forcing the Kansas City Royals to turn to their bullpen a little sooner than expected.
Ragans’ eight punchouts set a Royals franchise record for most strikeouts in a playoff debut. The 26-year-old southpaw largely used his unhittable fastball to shut down the Orioles lineup, throwing the pitch 41 times in the outing.
With a 1-0 lead, the Royals turned to Sam Long in the seventh, who threw a perfect frame on 10 pitches.
Acquired from the Texas Rangers in 2023, Ragans cemented his status as a bonafide No. 1 starter in 2024, pitching to a 3.14 ERA over 186.1 innings and racking up 223 strikeouts — the second-highest mark in the American League.
With Ragans and Seth Lugo, Kansas City features one of the top 1-2 combos atop its rotation. So, claiming a Game 1 win over the No. 3 seed Orioles would put the Royals in a great spot with Lugo lined up for Game 2.
