TORONTO — The Kansas City Royals turned to ace Cole Ragans to snap a three-game losing streak on Tuesday night.

And Ragans delivered in a big way against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The left-hander, who entered the day with a 3.90 ERA, was locked in from the start. He allowed one earned run across seven innings in the Royals’ 4-1 victory.

The Blue Jays flailed against Ragans’ premier fastball. He touched 99.6 mph on the pitching radar and mixed in a change-up and slider among his off-speed pitches.

As a result, Ragans posted nine strikeouts. He navigated a talented Blue Jays lineup and limited them to one hit early.

In the second inning, Toronto outfielder Davis Schneider hit a single to right field. However, he was quickly erased by veteran outfielder Hunter Renfroe, who threw out Schneider attempting to stretch the single into a double.

It was Renfroe’s 67th outfield assist since the 2017 season.

Ragans was in cruise control from that point. In the sixth inning, Ragans ran into slight trouble as the Blue Jays plated one run. However, he worked out of a potential jam by striking out Justin Turner to end the frame.

The Royals provided Ragans with two early runs. Royals second baseman Michael Massey hit a two-run homer off Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios.

Massey blasted an 84.6-mph slurve into the outfield seats. It was his first home run after returning from a low back strain earlier this month.

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