Apr 2, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans (55) pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Royals lost the series’ rubber match against the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2, and their record falls to 2-4. The bad news is that the Royals are under .500 and have lost two series in a row. The good news is everyone in the AL Central is tied for first place, so it’s wide open, guys. Have no fear.

The issues that Royals fans voiced in the offseason are rearing their ugly heads already. There was concern about whether the outfield was truly fixed and if a clear weakness from 24’ was in a better position for 25’.

Early returns look like it will be more of the same inconsistencies from the Royals outfield, which is infecting the entire lineup.

Pitching wasn’t the problem on Wednesday, as Cole Ragans had a good if not inefficient, outing. He couldn’t match what Freddy Peralta gave the Brewers, but it should have been good enough to win most games.

On Opening Day, Cole Ragans said he was working through some mechanical issues he needed to resolve with the pitching staff. Whatever he did, I suggest he continue to do that. He faced the Brewers on Wednesday and looked dominant, minus one mistake changeup that he left middle-middle to Jackson Chourio.

In five innings, Ragans struck out 10 Brewers. I took him 96 pitches to do it, but it was a vast improvement from his start on Opening Day. In all, Royals pitchers struck out 15 hitters as both offenses struggled to find much success in hitting the ball where the defenders ain’t.

Of all the strikeouts Ragans had, this might have been the best one, or at least the most embarrassing for the Brewers.

If it wasn’t for Cole’s pitch count getting out of hand, his day would’ve been much better. He only had a 48.5% zone rate, and he continued to fight his command— something he struggled with on Opening Day as well—which led to him throwing 97 pitches. The only pitch he was getting any chase with was his fastball (59.3%). His secondary stuff just was not as effective as he wanted them to be. His inefficiency prevented him from qualifying for a quality start and may have been the nail in the coffin for the Royals’ chances to take a stranglehold on the game—and the series.

I have faith that Ragans will iron out his early-season rust and give the Royals the length they expect of him. He finished in the top 5 in the AL Cy Young last season, and the Royals need him to maintain that same level of production for them to reach their goals. The Royals want to feel like Ragans can go toe-to-toe with any ace in the league.

On Wednesday, Freddy Peralta flat-out dueled him. I knew this would be a pitcher’s game because Freddy Peralta is like that and has been like that for a minute now. He’s one of two players in the MLB to have over 200 strikeouts in the last two seasons. He’s electric, and his numbers from yesterday reflect that. The Royals had trouble just touching this man’s stuff (pause).

Peralta had the Royals chasing pitches all afternoon and had a 100% whiff rate with his curveball. He wasn’t in the zone a ton, but the Royals bailed him out by swinging at any and everything. Credit to Peralta, but the Royals did not play their best brand of offensive ball in this one.

This was a disappointing series for the boys in blue. I fully expected them to win this series and wash the bad taste of losing on Opening Day to our division rival, but the offense is still finding its way.

For some reason, Q didn’t want to put one of his best players in his lineup (Maikel Garcia). Garcia and Witt Jr are the only Royals to have a hit in every game this season, but that streak ended with Bobby’s 0-4 performance yesterday.

This isn’t a strong baseball take, but you’re not going to win many games when your big three (Bobby, Vinnie, Salvy) go 0-for-12. This team goes as they go. Plain and simple.

Stay tuned for my next piece later today, reviewing the players that caught my eye (that’s good) through two series and the players that made me raise my eyebrow ( that’s not good).
Stay Royal!