Ragans sharp, Erceg shaky in 3-2 loss to Diamondbacks

Cole Ragans had a second consecutive sharp outing, but Lucas Erceg gave up three runs in an inning of work in a 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

The Royals got some offense going in the opening frame against right-hander Merrill Kelly with singles from Maikel Garcia and Michael Massey. But Garcia was caught stealing second, while Massey was picked off, ending the threat.

Meanwhile Ragans was on his game, retiring 11 of the first 12 hitters he faced. In the fourth the Diamondbacks managed to loaded the bases on him, and it appeared he walked Adrian del Castillo to force in a run. But Ragans challenged and the call was overturned for a strikeout, ending the inning. Ragans would exit…