Royals' Cole Ragans: Mixed bag in return

Ragans didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Mariners, allowing two runs on one hit and two walks in 3.2 innings. He struck out four.

Ragans was understandably limited in his first major-league start since June 5, throwing just 62 pitches in his return following over three months on the shelf due to a strained rotator cuff. A two-run homer by Eugenio Suarez represented the big blow to the southpaw's ledger, though it was encouraging to see him register 13 whiffs in an abbreviated outing. Ragans should have his workload restrictions loosened a bit in his next scheduled appearance against the Angels. He has a 5.16 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and a strong 80:18 K:BB over 52.1 innings.