The Royals get one more crack at the Orioles before the break, and Noah Cameron is the guy taking the ball with the clock ticking down.
Cameron was a bright spot for Kansas City last year, but this season has been a lot bumpier. He opened with a rough stretch, then put together about a month where he looked like he might actually be even better than he was in 2024.
Since then, though, the command has gone sideways. He’s now working through five straight starts with control issues, and in all but the most recent outing, that meant a pile of runs, too.
There are still some reasons to believe the turnaround is in there. For the season, Cameron’s K-BB% is actually better than it was last year, which usually tells a more useful story than ERA does.
He’s also striking out nearly a batter per inning more than he did a season ago. On the flip side, the results haven’t followed, and the walks have been the big problem over these last several starts.
He may also have run into some bad luck with strand rate, which was high last year and is much lower now. The hope is that this can be the day he starts steering things back in the right direction.
Baltimore is sending Kyle Bradish to the mound. He’s been the Orioles’ best starter in a lot of ways this year, though that comes with a bit of a qualifier since his 3.75 ERA doesn’t exactly scream ace.
FanGraphs would likely point to Shane Baz or Trevor Rogers instead, thanks to better FIPs even if their ERAs are inflated by lower LOB numbers. Brandon Young could also make a case after handling the Royals well last night, though he hasn’t had nearly as many turns as Bradish.
Bradish works with a four-pitch mix: sinker, curveball, slider, and four-seam fastball. The slider has been the real weapon, posting a 120 tjStats+ rating and a 76 grade on the 20-80 scale, with the results to match.
The curveball can do damage if hitters chase it out of the zone, but it can also get punished when he leaves it over the plate. The fastballs are more ordinary.
For Kansas City, the plan is obvious even if executing it is another matter: make him come into the zone with the fastball and sit on the breakers that hang.
The Royals also get Vinnie Pasquantino back in the lineup, and he’s immediately batting fifth. Jac Caglianone stays in the three hole, while Salvador Perez is sixth as the designated hitter.
That leaves Starling Marte, Josh Rojas, and Tyler Tolbert on the bench, with Luke Maile also available. Salvy, of course, is still the captain, so he starts.
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There was at least some fight in the lineup, with Kansas City tying the game twice before the Orioles answered back for good in the eighth. The bigger long-view note for the Royals, though, is Maikel Garcia, who remains on the injured list and is expected to begin hitting again during the All-Star break, a small but important step as the club waits to see how quickly one of its key infield pieces can get back into the mix. [Read more 🡒]