Talented rookie left-hander Noah Cameron is ready to make his return to the mound.
A refreshed Cameron will look to help the host Kansas City Royals avoid a three-game series sweep by the pesky Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.
Cameron (7-6, 2.92 ERA) has put himself in the conversation for American League Rookie of Year by becoming one of Kansas City’s most dependable starters. He has seven quality starts and has allowed more than two earned runs just five times in 19 outings.
However, Cameron already has thrown more than 140 innings between the majors and minors and owns a 4.03 ERA in his last seven starts. In his most recent outing on Aug. 25 at the Chicago White Sox, he allowed six runs and eight hits — including two homers — in a 7-0 loss.
The Royals (70-69) opted to extend Cameron’s rest, but after originally scheduled Thursday starter Seth Lugo sported a 9.11 ERA in six August starts and also is dealing with a back issue, the youngster will get the call.
“I’m ready to go,” Cameron said. “Even in Chicago, I remember warming up, I felt ready to compete, but I didn’t feel 100 percent physically my best. … So I definitely think it was a good time (to skip a turn in the rotation).”
Cameron, 26, will face the Angels (66-73) for the first time in his career. The key for Cameron is to keep Los Angeles at bay after it has outscored the Royals 9-4 in winning the first two games of this set.
Kansas City, limited to four hits apiece in the last three games, enters play Thursday 2 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot in the American League. But it has lost seven of its last 11 games overall and is 1-4 on a nine-game homestand.
“We’re out here to win every night,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “It’s very disappointing.”
Los Angeles, meanwhile, has won four of its last five games and clinched its first winning road series since July 18-20. Jo Adell hit a go-ahead homer for the second straight night, a three-run shot, and also delivered a tiebreaking RBI infield hit in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s 4-3 victory.
Amid a career year with 33 home runs and 90 RBIs, Adell has eight homers with 18 RBIs while batting .367 in the last 16 games.
Scheduled Angels starter Kyle Hendricks (6-9, 4.89 ERA) will look to build on a solid effort from Saturday at Houston, when he yielded seven hits but only a run and no walks over six innings of his team’s 4-1 victory. The effort came after the veteran right-hander allowed 16 runs and nine walks through 18 2/3 innings of his previous four starts.
“When I execute my pitches, throw it where I want to, I get soft contact, and it’s going to lead to more outs,” Hendricks said. “My focus is just executing pitches, reading swings, reading the hitters what they’re doing to me and making the adjustments between innings with my guys.”
Hendricks is 2-1 with a 3.33 ERA in four career starts vs. Kansas City.
The Royals’ Adam Frazier, who had an RBI double Wednesday, is batting .412 (14-of-34) with two homers against Hendricks. Meanwhile, star teammate Bobby Witt Jr. is 1-for-10 in the last three contests following his 18-game hitting streak.
–Field Level Media
