Behind Noah Cameron, Royals aim for 6th straight win in clash vs. Rangers

Reuters

6 hours ago

August 20 - Considering how well Kansas City rookie Noah Cameron has pitched at home, he might be the last person the Texas Rangers, and their struggling offense, want to face.
After taking the first two of this four-game set, the host Royals, victorious in five straight games overall, will look to win their fifth consecutive home contest with Cameron on the mound Wednesday night against the Rangers.
Cameron (7-5, 2.47 ERA) continues to make a case for AL Rookie of Year since making his major-league debut on April 30. The left-hander, who hails from nearby St. Joseph, Mo., has yielded two or more earned runs just four times in his 17 career starts.
He's also 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in his last four starts at home. On Friday, Cameron allowed his only run in the last three games there despite giving up six hits over 5 1/3 innings of Kansas City's 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
"He has a way of making pitches when he needs to," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said.
Now, Cameron will to help the Royals, trying to reach a wild-card position in the American League and 18-9 since July 20, improve to 8-1 on this 10-game homestand. And also move to 6-0 this season vs. Texas, which has totaled 42 runs and hit just 13 homers during its current 2-10 stretch.
Corey Seager and Joc Pederson hit solo homers Tuesday, but those were half of the Rangers' four hits.
"We got to come out and keep fighting," said Texas manager said Bruce Bochy, whose team has been outscored 25-10 in those five games vs. Kansas City this season. "It's always tough when you're going through something like this. We've got to find a way."
The Royals, meanwhile, have 43 home runs during the last 27 games.
During Tuesday's 5-2 win, Bobby Witt Jr. clubbed his 100th career homer in the eighth inning. Vinnie Pasquantino and Mike Yastrzemski each homered for a second consecutive contest.
At 25 years, 66 days old, Witt is the youngest Royal to reach 100 homers. He's also the fourth player ever with at least 100 home runs and 100 steals in his first four major league seasons.
"To me, those are numbers," Witt told FanDuel Sports Network. "We've got to keep winning games and get to the playoffs."
Witt is batting .407 during an eight-game hitting streak. He's 7-for-17 with two home runs vs. Texas in 2025.
The Rangers announced that Jacob deGrom, Wednesday's scheduled starter, would have his turn in the rotation skipped due to shoulder fatigue. DeGrom is 10-5 with a 2.76 ERA in 24 starts during his resurgent season, and the Rangers' brass appears to be playing it safe with the veteran, considering his injury history.
"The hope is to skip a start and then finish strong," Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young told the club's official website of deGrom's current situation. "Everything checked out great, just normal fatigue. This workload is the most he's had in a long time."
The Rangers have not named an official starting pitcher for Wednesday's contest and could be in line for a bullpen game.
Meanwhile, Seager is 6-for-12 with two homers in three games after going hitless in the previous four.
-Field Level Media