Noah Cameron took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his major league debut, propelling the visiting Kansas City Royals to a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.
In the seventh, Cameron retired Brandon Lowe on a grounder. Danny Jansen walked before Curtis Mead singled to left, ending Cameron’s no-hit bid and his outing. Three relievers followed, closing out a four-hit shutout.
Cameron (1-0) allowed just one hit while walking five and striking out three after being called up from Triple-A Omaha before the game. Vinnie Pasquantino launched a two-run homer and Bobby Witt Jr. tallied two hits and an RBI for the Royals, who clinched the three-game series and won their eighth game in nine tries.
Kansas City closer Carlos Estevez surrendered singles to Kameron Misner and Jonathan Aranda in the ninth but struck out Taylor Walls and retired Chandler Simpson on a fly ball to earn his ninth save.
Drew Rasmussen (1-2) allowed three runs on six hits over five innings for Tampa Bay, while striking out three and walking one. The Rays dropped their second game in a row after a five-game winning streak.
Pasquantino followed Witt’s one-out single in the first with his fourth homer of the season to give Kansas City an early edge.
Cameron retired the first four batters he faced before issuing a one-out walk to Lowe in the second. The 25-year-old left-hander picked up his first strikeout to end the third inning, getting Simpson to whiff on a 1-2 slider.
The Kansas City starter worked a perfect, six-pitch fourth inning.
The Royals’ offense tacked on in the fifth, as Cavan Biggio’s one-out walk and Jonathan India’s single were followed by Witt’s RBI single, pushing the lead to 3-0.
Lowe reached for a second time on Biggio’s fielding error to begin the bottom of the fifth, but Cameron finished the frame without allowing Tampa Bay’s first base hit.
Cameron walked one and struck out two in the sixth.
–Field Level Media
