In his first-ever post-season look, Cole Ragans cruised by six innings, holding the Baltimore Orioles to simply 4 base runners whereas racking up eight strikeouts on 80 pitches.
However his night time was lower brief due to cramping in his left calf, forcing the Kansas Metropolis Royals to show to their bullpen a little bit earlier than anticipated.
Ragans’ eight punchouts set a Royals franchise file for many strikeouts in a playoff debut. The 26-year-old southpaw largely used his unhittable fastball to close down the Orioles lineup, throwing the pitch 41 instances within the outing.
With a 1-0 lead, the Royals turned to Sam Lengthy within the seventh, who threw an ideal body on 10 pitches.
Acquired from the Texas Rangers in 2023, Ragans cemented his standing 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 within the American League.
With Ragans and Seth Lugo, Kansas Metropolis options one of many prime 1-2 combos atop its rotation. So, claiming a Recreation 1 win over the No. 3 seed Orioles would put the Royals in an amazing spot with Lugo lined up for Recreation 2.