Royals Win Game 1 vs. Orioles as MLB Fans Hype Cole Ragans After Duel with Burnes

Kansas City Royals ace Cole Ragans threw six shutout innings and struck out eight to lead his team to a 1-0 road victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of their American League Wild Card series on Saturday.

Ragans earned the win in a pitchers' duel with O's starter Corbin Burnes, who allowed just one earned run over eight-plus innings, striking out three.

Ragans departed before the seventh inning due to left leg cramps. Thankfully, there is no long-term concern.

Royals relievers Sam Long and Kris Bubic earned holds before Lucas Erceg got the four-out save.

Kansas City scored its lone run in the sixth inning, when Bobby Witt Jr.'s two-out single scored Maikel Garcia.

Ragans mostly cruised in this one but got into trouble in the fifth inning after Ramón Urías doubled and Cedric Mullins singled, putting runners on the corners with one out. But Ragans got James McCann and Gunnar Henderson to strike out swinging, ending the threat.

The left-hander was one of the American League's best pitchers in 2024, posting a 3.14 ERA (1.14 WHIP) with 223 strikeouts in 186.1 innings (32 starts). He got a tough assignment to begin the playoffs, drawing a road start against a 91-win Orioles team that finished second in the American League in runs per game.

But Ragans got the job done, and now the Royals are one win away from their first American League Division Series appearance since 2015, the year of the franchise's last World Series victory.

Needless to say, fans and analysts were impressed with Ragans' work.

Kansas City will look to close out the best-of-three series on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. ET in Baltimore. Seth Lugo will start for the Royals, and Zach Eflin will get the ball for the Orioles.