A healthy Cole Ragans leads Royals to victory over Athletics in season finale

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on Sep 28, 2025

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kansas City Royals got exactly what they hoped for during Cole Ragans’ final three starts of the 2025 season.

A determined All-Star ace.

Ragans, who missed most of the season with a left-rotator cuff strain, was out to prove he could return to top form. The injury zapped his effectiveness and left him scrambling to maintain his optimal level of production.

As his shoulder healed, Ragans' zip on his fastball returned — touching 98 mph at times — and the strikeouts followed. Since returning from injury, he has allowed four earned runs and registered 22 strikeouts.

The Royals continued to monitor his workload. Ragans maxed out at 72 pitches in his previous two outings — each offering various degrees of success.

On Sunday, Ragans looked sharp in the Royals’ regular-season finale against the Athletics. He tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings while recording eight strikeouts. Per Baseball Savant, he generated 41 swings and 17 whiffs.

The Royals beat the Athletics 9-2. The victory secured a second consecutive winning season at 82-80 overall. Kansas City last finished with a winning record in multiple years from 2013-15.

Ragans is a big part of the Royals’ future. He is signed long-term and will likely be their opening-day starter in 2026. His ability to anchor the rotation — which also includes Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic, Noah Cameron and others — will be paramount in helping Kansas City return to a postseason.

There shouldn’t be many lingering concerns about Ragans. In his final starts of 2025, he showed elevated velocity and the ability to pitch without any discomfort. He will have a normal offseason and be penciled in to make at least 25-30 starts next season.

Sunday’s effort gave the Royals additional reassurance. Ragans has returned to his ace status and cleared every benchmark in his re-ascension atop the rotation.

Royals’ offense finishes strong

The Royals were plagued with an inconsistent offense this season.

At times they could score double-digit runs with ease. There were also tough spells during which the Kansas City bats just couldn’t get anything going.

On Sunday, the Royals took care of business early against the Athletics’ bullpen. But Kansas City was also gifted a run in the second inning. Athletics outfielder JJ Bleday misplayed a ball that rolled past him to the right-field wall.

That led to Maikel Garcia recording a sacrifice fly for an early Royals lead. Garcia also hit an RBI single in the fourth inning. He and second baseman Michael Massey each had two RBIs in the game.

Later, the Royals relied on a power barrage.

Mike Yastrzemski and Carter Jensen hit consecutive homers in the seventh inning. Bobby Witt Jr. capped the frame with a two-run double.

Jensen’s blast traveled 482 feet over the right-field wall. It’s the longest Royals home run in the Statcast Era.

Yastrzemski finished with two homers Sunday afternoon. It was his first two-homer game since June 19, 2023, when he played for the San Francisco Giants.

The Royals logged 15 hits in the regular-season finale. And Witt finished the 2025 campaign with the most hits (184) in the majors.

____