Cole Ragans tossed six shutout innings and Royals hitters enjoyed a five-run sixth inning in a 6-2 win over the A’s in the series opener on Friday night.
The Royals struck in the first inning when Bobby Witt Jr. doubled and Salvador Perez hit a hot shot to third that would be an infield single, scoring Witt. Cole Ragans bounced back from a seven-run outing his last time out to toss seven shutout innings against the A’s. Ragans allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out seven in lowering his ERA to 3.70. He threw 62 of his 94 pitches for strikes and generated 15 swing-and-misses.