Red Sox Wrap: Royals Star Cole Ragans Stymies Boston’s Bats

The Red Sox began a pivotal series to close out the first half of the season on the wrong foot as they suffered a 6-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on Friday night.

The Red Sox dropped to 51-42 while the Royals jumped up to 52-43 and they are now tied with Boston for the final playoff spot in the American League.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The loss to the Royals exposed the two needs for the Red Sox ahead of the July 30 deadline: another starting pitcher and a right-handed bat.

With a spot open in the rotation, Alex Cora turned to Cooper Criswell but the right-hander was ineffective against the Royals. Criswell dug the Red Sox into a 4-0 hole after the top of the second inning and allowed five runs -- two earned -- on eight hits with one strikeout and two walks in six innings.

The Red Sox never came close to threatening that lead as Royals All-Star pitcher Cole Ragans stymied them throughout his dominant performance. The Red Sox tried loading up with right-handed bats against the lefty, and even batted Jarren Duran second, but it just showed how much weaker Boston's lineup is when it does that.

The Red Sox have had a good amount of struggles against left-handed starting pitchers this season, and Friday's matchup with the Royals made it even more apparent that Boston needs another right-handed bat to try to combat these issues.

Another bat and a quality arm that could have kept the game closer are what the Red Sox need with them in the thick of a playoff race. And perhaps this will help give them a push to acquire those assets with the trade deadline right around the corner.

STARS OF THE GAME
-- Ragans tossed seven dominant innings, in which he gave up just one run on four hits while walking just one and striking out seven. The 26-year-old threw 67 of his 102 pitches for strikes.

-- Ceddanne Rafaela, who went 2-for-3, delivered the only run of the game for the Red Sox when he doubled in Jaime Westbrook in the bottom of the second. That gave Rafaela his 52nd RBI of the season, which is tops among all rookies.

-- Bobby Witt Jr. was right in the middle of the Royals' offensive production. He went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the fourth inning.

ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox will send Kutter Crawford to the mound at Fenway Park on Saturday in hopes of bouncing back against the Royals. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.