A trip to Kauffman Stadium isn't naturally associated with a run-in with brand name talent. It's instead managed to be frustrating in far different ways. But in a showdown of two decidedly scuffling offenses averaging under four runs per game, two of the Royals four 2024 All-Star reps broke the stalemate.
Any notions of a well-executed Bobby Witt Jr. containment plan were snuffed out by a first inning walk, the first of three times on base and leading to the first of two stolen bags on the evening. Witt singled to lead off the fourth, stole second and scored the first Royals run of the night when Maikel García poked a Shane Smith curveball at the knees through a drawn-in Chase Meidroth at short. And Witt drove in the second Royal run in the fifth, doubling a thigh-high Smith changeup into the right-center gap after Kyle Isbel led off the frame by push bunting his way on base like the Kansas City special days of old.
Smith's stuff was livelier than his command was sharp as he opened his second month in a major league rotation, averaging 96 mph with a heater that largely carried him through a poor day of locating his stalwart change. Three of Smith's five punchouts came on heaters, but his lack of precision kept him from benefitting much from home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn's generous outside corner. He lost an 11-pitch battle to García for a leadoff walk in the sixth to end his night.
Cole Ragans, on the other hand, returned from missing a start due to a groin strain and warped the environment to his demands.
En route to matching a season-high 11 strikeouts in just five scoreless innings of work, Ragans made particular sport of carving White Sox rookies with lauded hit tools. He perfectly backdoored cutters to catch the judicious Chase Meidroth looking twice, and alternated overpowering heaters and diving changeups while striking Edgar Quero out swinging three times.
As much as the White Sox struggle to find reliable firepower out of one of the softest-tossing bullpens in the league, the Royals brought out four-straight dudes who can throw 95 mph to complete the shutout behind Ragans. Closer Carlos Estevez recorded three quick contact outs around a two-out Joshua Palacios in the ninth for the save, allowing the White Sox offense to merely match their season-high for strikeouts with 14.
A sleepy road loss allowed ample room for Caleb Freeman to make his major league debut, and he quickly a collected a worthy first highlight. Salvador Perez's famous generosity for sliders off the edge gave Freeman his first big league strikeout to lead off the bottom of the eighth. García was less generous and worked a six-pitch walk before scoring on a Drew Waters two-out double. But at this point it's cool that Freeman has a big league ERA, whatever the number.
Bullet points:
*The White Sox went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Luis Robert Jr. took a Ragans changeup at the knees to strand a Meidroth leadoff single in the first, and Andrew Vaughn's one-out double in the fifth--the team's only extra-base hit--went by the boards
*A day after recording his fifth multi-hit game of his young career, Quero had his first multi-strikeout performance, striking out his first three times up in an 0-for-4 performance. The one time he made contact was a soft flare lofted just high enough to first that Miguel Vargas was deluded into thinking it would get over Vinnie Pasquantino's head, and was doubled off.
*García led off the Royals' sixth with a walk, advanced to second on a passed ball, stole third and...ran into a TOOTBLAN when he gravely misjudged how far Matt Thaiss' throw caromed away from Vargas. See? Other teams do it too. García got his revenge by stealing second and scoring in the eighth, one of four Royals stolen bases on the night.
*The Sox haven't won in Kauffman Stadium since Sept. 12, 2023. Dylan Cease was the winning pitcher.
