Royals vault into 2nd place in AL Central after blanking Twins, 5-0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals continued to shake off the doldrums of their recent seven-game losing streak on Friday night.

The Royals earned a pivotal 5-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. The win vaulted the club into second place in the American League Central race.

KC improved to 77-65 and sits a half-game ahead of the Twins (76-65) in the division. The Royals are four games behind the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians, pending their result Friday evening.

There are AL wild-card implications, too, as the Twins dropped to the final wild-card spot. The Royals are 5 1/2 games clear of the Red Sox (71-70) and, pending Friday’s results, the Mariners and Tigers, who sit outside the playoffs.

The Royals received six shutout innings from All-Star starter Cole Ragans. The left-hander silenced the Twins with his electric fastball.

Ragans threw 48 fastballs on the night. He generated 26 swings and four whiffs, per Baseball Savant. The fastball helped Ragans get ahead early in counts and he utilized his off-speed pitches to put hitters away.

In the third inning, Ragans collected his 200th strikeout of the season. He joined a short list of Royals to reach that milestone (more on that later) and finished with seven strikeouts on the night.

The Royals gave Ragans plenty of run support. Outfielder Tommy Pham hit an RBI double to give the club a 1-0 lead. Later, Michael Massey hit a solo home run to extend the quick advantage.

Massey finished 3 for 3 with two singles. Royals veteran Hunter Renfroe added more insurance with a two-run single in his return from the injured list.

Ragans earned his 11th victory this season. Meanwhile, Twins starter Zebby Matthews lost his third game after allowing four earned runs in five innings.

Here are more notables from Friday’s game:

Ragans reaches 200 strikeouts

Ragans continues to shine in a Royals uniform. On Friday, Ragans added to his impressive résumé by collecting his 200th strikeout in the third inning.

The southpaw struck out Twins designated hitter Royce Lewis after a nine-pitch sequence. He got Lewis swinging on an 86.1-mph change-up outside of the strike zone.

Ragans became the fifth Royals pitcher to record 200 or more strikeouts in a single season. He joined Zack Greinke (242 strikeouts, 2009), Kevin Appier (207, 1996), Dennis Leonard (244, 1977) and Bob Johnson (206, 1970).

This season, Ragans has three games with 10 or more strikeouts. He tied his career high with 12 strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers on May 22.

Ragans also is the first left-handed pitcher to eclipse 200 strikeouts in Royals history. He surpassed fellow lefty Danny Duffy, who previously held the record with 188 strikeouts, last week against the Houston Astros.

Royals duo combine for highlight play

Pham also made a key defensive play in the field.

In the fourth inning, Twins outfielder Austin Martin hit a two-out double into the left-field corner with teammate Kyle Farmer on base.

Farmer rumbled around the bases looking to score from first base. However, Pham quickly corralled the baseball and fired a strike to Bobby Witt Jr., who was the relay man.

Witt caught the baseball and threw toward home plate. The ball beat Farmer as he slid toward Royals catcher Salvador Perez. Farmer was tagged out as the Twins were turned away to end the inning.

What’s next on the Royals’ schedule:

The Royals face the Twins again on Saturday night. It will be the second game of a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium.

KC right-hander Alec Marsh will start in Saturday’s clash. He is set to make his first home start since July 23 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Twins will start right-hander Bailey Ober in the matchup. He is 12-6 with a 3.95 ERA this season.