KC Royals need excellence from Cole Ragans tonight

If Cole Ragans pitches tonight like fellow American League All-Star Seth Lugo did Monday, the KC Royals should be just fine. In case you missed it, Lugo, 2-5 with a 5.36 ERA in his last seven starts before taking the mound to open the Royals' three-game series with the Angels, breathed a bit of life back into his all but extinguished Cy Young chances and returned to form with a fine seven-inning, eight-strikeout, two-run performance that helped Kansas City drop LA 5-3.

But if Ragans, now 10-7 with a 3.18 ERA, falters at Kauffman Stadium this evening and reverts to the form he displayed when he almost single-handedly gifted the Angels an easy 9-3 victory in May, when he was charged with all but two of LA's runs in 6.1 innings, the Royals might not find Tuesday as enjoyable as Monday.

A subpar effort from Ragans could mean the end of the club's five-game win streak, interrupt its slowly increasing lead over Boston for the third AL Wild Card spot and its suddenly realistic chances of capturing an AL Central title — the Royals are 4.5 games ahead of the Red Sox, and tied for second with Minnesota, just 2.5 games behind the Guardians. as of this writing.

This evening's 7:10 p.m. CDT contest isn't one Kansas City absolutely must win, but it's important in the sense that the club can use every victory it can muster as the 2024 stretch run begins in earnest. After LA leaves town Wednesday night, hopefully the victim of a series sweep like KC completed against Cincinnati Sunday, and the Royals take Thursday off, KC embarks on a grueling 20-game gauntlet that will be its toughest prolonged test of the season.

KC needs a good game from Cole Ragans as big test approaches

First up is a three-game series with National League East-leading Philadelphia at The K. Then comes a four-game set, including next Monday's series-opening doubleheader, at Cleveland, followed by four at AL West frontrunner Houston, three at home against the Guardians, another three at Kauffman Stadium with Minnesota, and a trio of road games against the Yankees who, despite recent struggles, still lead the AL East.

It is, to be sure, a rugged road no one should consider anything less than critical to, if not dispositive of, the Royals' playoff hopes. Cruise through that stretch with a winning record, and Kansas City heads into its final 15 games of the regular season in fine shape — after finishing up those 20 tough games, the club plays Pittsburgh, Detroit, San Francisco, Washington, and Atlanta. Only the Braves and Giants are above .500, so there are a lot of wins to be had from that collection of teams.

But the reality is this: the Royals, 70-55 heading into tonight's game with the Angels, must successfully clear that 20-game high hurdle before they can relish thoughts of concluding the campaign with what should be easier competition.

That's why Ragans excelling tonight (and scheduled starter Michael Lorenzen doing the same in Wednesday's series finale) is in the Royals' best interest. The club needs every win it can get right now.

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