The Royals dynamic duo takes down the Twins

The Royals' ace and their MVP team up to lead the way to victory.

Bobby and Cole. Cole and Bobby.

Kansas City’s electric pair of All-Stars was at it again on Tuesday, willing the Royals to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

This game was won on Ragans’ arm and Witt’s legs.

The winning rally—I’m not even sure we can call it a rally—was entirely manufactured by Witt’s blinding speed in the bottom of the eighth inning. To set the sequence in motion, he hit a soft comebacker (38.6 mph off the bat) to reliever Griffin Jax. Jax fielded the ball, but Witt was hustling down the line, and Jax airmailed his throw. It didn’t bounce all that far away from first, but Witt flipped on the afterburners and had his sights set on third. There wasn’t an iota of hesitation.

It was a three-base error on a batted ball that traveled maybe 40 feet. That, as Jarrod Dyson would say, is what speed do.

Up next was Vinnie Pasquantino, who was looking for redemption after he flew out with the sacks full to end the fifth inning. The flyout was a coda to a ten-pitch at bat where Pasquantino fought off several pitches on the inner half (a few of which would’ve been ball four and an RBI) before he got a sinker where he could extend his arms. He did put something of a charge into it—it would’ve left the yard in 12 parks—but at The K, it was just a long out.

This time, Pasquantino didn’t put the ball in the air. With the Twins playing the infield in, Witt broke immediately (contact play alert!) as Pasquantino grounded softly to first base. Witt was, as you would expect, flying down the line. There was no chance for a play at home and the Twins took the out at first.

Show me a more electric player than Bobby Witt, Jr. You can’t. It’s impossible. Because the most electric player in baseball is Bobby Witt Jr.

The Royals took a 2-1 lead on Witt’s legs, shut down the Twins in the ninth and are now winners of three in a row and four of their last five.

The Royals were in a position to win because their ace, Cole Ragans, was doing ace-like things. Entering Tuesday’s games, the Twins were hitting a collective .195 against fastballs. You may have heard that Ragans has something of an electric four-seamer. He absolutely does and he decided to let it eat.

Through the first two innings, Ragans offered a fastball for 17 of his first 27 pitches. He racked up four strikeouts total, with all of them coming on a pitch other than a heater, but make no mistake…he was blowing the pitch through the strike zone, daring Twins hitters to do something with it. Reader, they could not.

Fine. The above GIF isn’t a four-seamer in the zone, but the point stands. It was exploding on Tuesday.

While the Twins hitters were generally overwhelmed by the heat coming off the Ragans’ fastball, he was really making them look foolish when he pulled the string on the changeup. For the night, he threw 21 cambios, with Twins hitters swinging at 11. They missed nine times. Nine times out of 11 swings! That’s an 82 percent whiff rate. That is, dare I say, elite.

The slider was likewise biting and the knuckle curve was buckling. Overall, Ragans generated 18 swings and misses on the night and finished with 11 strikeouts, one off his career high. It was a thoroughly dominating performance and one that was an absolute pleasure to watch. The fastball was popping, but the changeup was the star of the show.

We are lucky to be able to watch Witt and Ragans on this team.

The first time through the order against Ragans, the Twins struck out six times. The only hitter who put up much of a fight was Carlos Correa, who doubled on a 2-2 four-seamer that culminated an eight-pitch battle.

This was kind of a microcosm plate appearance that first time through the order where Ragans was challenging Twins hitters by filling the zone with fastballs. As you can see above, Ragans jumped ahead 0-2 and showed curve on his fourth pitch and then unleashed the change on pitch number six. That changeup was the one most hitters were offering at (and missing) and that was most definitely the intent there. Except Correa didn’t bite. He swung at that elevated four-seamer and drove it the opposite way to the right-center gap.

The next time up in the fourth, Ragans shelved his four-seamer, choosing to rely on the changeup and knuckle curve.

A low knuckle curve on the black, followed by one up and away, both called strikes, had Correa on the defensive. Ragans wasted two changeups out of the zone before going back to the knuckle curve that Correa couldn’t resist.

In their third confrontation of the night, Ragans again held back the heat, sticking with the offspeed. By this point, Ragans was nearing 90 pitches and was probably running out of gas. He missed with his first two pitches, both well off the plate and easy takes for Correa. The third pitch was the worst changeup Ragans threw all night, a belt-high hanger.

Correa still couldn’t square it up, but dropped it down the left field line for another double.

Ragans got out of that potential jam by striking out Jose Miranda to end the inning and his night on the mound.

After Ragans finished his six innings, the bullpen was tasked to hold the game. After using Hunter Harvey, Lucas Erceg and Carlos Estévez on Sunday and Monday, Matt Quatraro needed to lean on his—let’s say less trusted—relievers. Angel Zerpa and John Schreiber had the seventh and eighth, respectively. Zerpa allowed a one-out single but got the next two hitters. Schreiber allowed back-to-back one-out singles and then got a nifty 6-4-3 double play. With the game on the balance with pretty much every pitch, it was good to see these two step forward.

Then, Schreiber was back out for the ninth as Quatraro opted to have him face a lefty pinch hitter and a right-handed batter. An interesting gambit. Once those two outs were recorded, Quatraro went back to the bullpen for Daniel Lynch IV for the left-handed hitting Edouard Julien. Two pitches, one groundout and another win in the books.

I don’t think the Royals are going to win many one-run ballgames this year without using at least one of the Harvey/Erceg/Estévez triumvirate. Don’t sleep on how the Royals were able to secure this win without using any of those three.

Oh! The Twins committed three errors. That’s not easy to do in today’s game. And both runs the Royals scored were due in part to their opponent’s largesse.

The Twins got a solid start from López, who left early due to hamstring tightness, but otherwise, they are not playing good baseball at the moment. Not that any of us will complain.

You are going to want to see this:

@EddieHigh from the bad social media site

That’s Jac Caglianone hitting a baseball 468 feet. Yes, that’s correct…468 feet. It left the bat at 111 mph.

The bat flip is 70-grade, so he still has some work to do. But I do enjoy how it was just casual, like he destroys baseballs like that on the regular. Because he clearly does.

Central Issues

Yankees 0, Tigers 5

After taking the “L” in his first two starts, Tarik Skubal remembered that he’s Tarik Skubal and dominated the Yankees on a frigid afternoon in Motown. The reigning AL Cy Young award winner went six innings, striking out six while scattering four hits. The Tigers launched three solo home runs in the fourth inning with Spencer Torkelson, Zach McKinstry and Dillon Dingler all leaving the yard.

White Sox 0, Guardians 1

Do you like shrimp? How do you like those shrimps? This one was scoreless through eight and a half with both teams mustering a mere two hits each. Then Mike Clevenger entered the game. A single to Carlos Santana was followed by three consecutive walks and it’s a literal walkoff win in the Guardians home opener. Clevenger, who entered the game with two outs in the eighth, threw 31 pitches with just 16 going for strikes. Gosh, you hate to see it.

Up Next

Two games remain in the series and the homestand.

Wed, April 9 - RHP Seth Lugo (1-0, 3.27) RHP Bailey Ober (0-1, 12.15) at 6:40 p.m.
Thu, April 10 - RHP Joe Ryan (0-1, 4.50) vs. vs. RHP Michael Wacha (0-2, 4.66) at 1:10 p.m.

After that, the Royals head on the road for three-city, 10 10-game road trip.