Noah Cameron pitched a complete game on Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels, fanning eight batters while surrendering just one hit and issuing a single walk.
Noah Cameron shoved on the mound during the Kansas City Royals' Sunday finale against the Los Angeles Angels, striking out eight batters and only giving up one hit through a complete game of action as the team secured the series win with a 3-0 shutout victory.
Following the matchup, Royals manager Matt Quatraro touted the 27-year-old left-hander's superb command and nasty breaking balls.
"He was in command all day, he was efficient, getting strikeouts in the last couple innings there with the changeups," Quatraro said, according to MLB.com. "The tempo at which he's pitching has been much better and the efficiency has been better. His breaking balls have been good, he's had soft contact and he's kept them on their heels."
Cameron was effective from the get-go as the Angels' top three of Zach Neto, Mike Trout and Vaugh Grissom all flied out for a quick first inning. The second was about the same when he forced popouts from Jose Siri and Denzer Guzmán plus a groundout from Wade Meckler.
Michael Massey backed Cameron in the fourth with a solo home run to right field that gave Kansas City a 1-0 lead they would never give up. Cameron pulled his weight as well, forcing another pair of flyouts from Neto and Trout while getting Grissom to bite on an 81-mph changeup below the knees.
As the Angels' bats failed to find an answer, Bobby Witt Jr. tacked on another run to the Royals' lead in the fifth with a solo blast of his own to left field off Angels starter Ryan Johnson.
L.A. showed signs of life in the sixth when Oswald Peraza drew a five-pitch walk off Cameron.
Grissom would record L.A.'s lone hit of the matchup in the seventh with a single. However, it was too little, too late after a Witt Jr. groundout allowed Jensen to advance to second base and John Rave to score the third run for Kansas City that sealed the Angels' fate.
With the win, Cameron has compiled a 4.16 ERA and 1.22 WHIP while recording 126 strikeouts in 138.1 innings of work. He is also now 7-8 on the season.
Meanwhile, the Royals as a whole improved to 51-74 overall while still ranking fifth in the AL Central.
Cameron had a similar performance on Aug. 5 against the rival Minnesota Twins, fanning nine batters while surrendering one earned run and three hits across eight innings to propel the Royals to a 2-1 victory.
Moreover, he delivered during the Royals' 15-1 blowout win over the Philadelphia Phillies in July, striking out seven despite giving up six hits in five innings pitched.
Cameron should get his next opportunity to contribute during the Royals' upcoming series next week back at Kauffman Stadium against the Detroit Tigers.
