Cole Ragans, big sixth-inning give Royals 6-2 win over A’s

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.

The Royals offense struggled against spot starter Mitch Spence but found more success in the sixth of reliever Austin Adams. Salvador Perez led off with a walk, his 14th of the year, more than he drew in all of 2015. Michael Massey followed up with a two-run home run, his fourth of the year, to make it 3-0 Royals. MJ Melendez walked and Hunter Renfroe singled, setting up a three-run home run by Maikel Garcia, his fifth of the year.

The result was a five-run inning, giving the Royals a 6-0 lead. They have scored 31 runs in the fifth innings, more runs than in any other inning except the 41 runs they have scored in the seventh inning.

Chris Stratton pitched a scoreless eighth inning to protect the lead. Matt Sauer gave up a two-run home run to Shea Langeliers to put Oakland on the board, but was able to preserve the victory, giving Kansas City a 6-2 win in the series opener.

The Royals have a chance to take the series tomorrow evening at 6:10 CT when Seth Lugo faces Ross Stripling.