Despite being 1,300 miles away from home, Kansas City left-hander Noah Cameron was able to celebrate his first major league start — and victory — with family and friends.
What a debut it was.
Cameron, who grew up rooting for the Royals in St. Joseph, Missouri, took a no-hitter into the seventh inning Wednesday night in Tampa Bay as the Royals defeated the Rays 3-0. His wife, young son, parents, siblings, and a few friends traveled to support him.
Curtis Mead’s one-out single down the left-field line broke his no-hit streak. Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro immediately replaced Cameron with reliever John Schreiber.
Cameron walked off the mound toward the third-base dugout, where a large crowd of Royals fans, including his family, gave him a well-deserved standing ovation.
Cameron’s final line was one hit in 6 1/3 innings, with five walks and three strikeouts. He threw 79 pitches, of which 46 were strikes.
It was a memorable MLB debut for a 25-year-old who first decided he wanted to be a professional baseball player more than 20 years ago. Cameron grew up an hour from Kansas City, making it even more special.
He was four years old when he walked the warning track at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City with his mother during a school field trip. Cameron received a wave from Royals starter Zack Greinke that day and has not forgotten it since.
He had a similar experience against the Rays, which was nearly unprecedented in more than three decades.
No Royals pitcher has thrown a no-hitter since Bret Saberhagen on August 26, 1991, a total of 5,244 games, the third-longest active no-hit streak in the majors. Only Cleveland and Toronto have gone longer without one.
Only two pitchers have thrown no-hitters in their major league debuts: Bumpus Jones of the Cincinnati Reds against the Pittsburgh Pirates on October 15, 1892, and Tyler Gilbert of the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 14, 2021, against the San Diego Padres.
Cameron was recalled from Triple-A Omaha before Wednesday’s game, but he swore to keep the start a secret from his family and friends when he learned about it three days earlier.
Cameron was filling in for Cole Ragans, who has a mild left groin strain. However, after such an impressive debut, it may be difficult to demote him.
Kansas City provided three defensive gems to help Cameron extend his no-hit streak. In the first inning, Hunter Renfroe’s leaping catch against the right-field wall denied Yandy Diaz extra bases.
Cameron exited the second inning after walking two batters when Maikel Garcia stabbed Mead’s hard-hit grounder, resulting in a 5-4-3 double play. And in the third, Witt dove to catch Jose Caballero’s grounder in the hole and threw him out at first.
