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Kansas City Royals Lefty Enters Rare Air in Team History with Huge Friday Win

The Kansas City Royals delivered a huge win on Friday night thanks to the history-making Cole Ragans on the mound.

Brady Farkas

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans (55) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium on Sept 6.
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans (55) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium on Sept 6. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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The Kansas City Royals delivered a huge 5-0 win on Friday night against their American League Central rivals, the Minnesota Twins.

With the win, Kansas City is now in the second wild card spot in the American League. They lead the Twins by 0.5 games and now sit at 77-65 overall.

The Royals got a home run from Evan Massey in the victory but also got a dominant pitching performance from All-Star Cole Ragans, who earned the win. The lefty went 6.0 innings, surrendering just four hits and one walk. He struck out seven in moving to 11-9 on the year with a 3.33 ERA.

He also crossed the 200-strikeout threshold for the first time in his career, entering a prestigious group in team history.

Per @StatsCentre:

Most single season strikeouts by a pitcher in @Royals franchise history (1969-):
244- Dennis Leonard (1977)
242- Zack Greinke (2009)
207- Kevin Appier (1996)
206- Bob Johnson (1970)
204- Cole Ragans (2024 via 7 over 6 IP in Friday's 5-0 win over the Twins)
198- Steve Busby (1974)

Ragans has made 29 starts this season and likely has four left in the regular season. He's a lock to pass Johnson and Appier and could make a run at the top spot if he's able to get on a huge roll.

The 26-year-old was acquired at the trade deadline in 2023 and has turned into an ace for the Royals. He's a major part of why they've gone from 56-106 to being in a position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

The Royals and Twins will play again on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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