The lead held from there. John Schreiber, Steven Cruz, Daniel Lynch and Carlos Estevez each pitched a scoreless inning; the four scoreless innings mean that KC’s bullpen, since April 24, has allowed just five earned runs in 39 2/3 innings — good for an MLB-best 1.15 ERA in that time. Estevez earned the save, his 10th of the season.

In their first game against the Chicago White Sox, the Kansas City Royals handed them their 25th loss in a 3-0 victory. The big story of the game was the return of Cole Ragans to the mound after a one-start absence due to a groin injury.

Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans has been scratched from his regularly scheduled start this week against the Tampa Bay Rays per manager Matt Quatraro. The Royals will call up their No. 5 prospect Noah Cameron from Triple-A Omaha to replace Ragans on Wednesday.