Royals continue to tumble. Inside Friday’s shutout loss to the Seattle Mariners
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- Noah Cameron allowed four hits in six innings and tied a career high with eight.
- Mitch Garver hit a two-run homer off Nick Mears, yielding two runs.
- Kansas City was shut out 2-0 for their fourth shutout and a 13-14 home record.
Kansas City Royals fans were treated to an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel at Kauffman Stadium on Friday night.
Unfortunately, the end result didn’t go in the Royals’ favor.
The Royals sent left-hander Noah Cameron to the mound against the Seattle Mariners to open a three-game series.
Cameron, who entered with a 5.40 ERA this season, hadn’t lived up to his 2025 production. He had allowed three or more runs in his last five starts. And the Royals lost four of those contests.
Cameron, though, saved his best start for the home crowd. He allowed four hits in six innings and tied a career high with eight strikeouts. The Mariners couldn’t catch up to his four-seam fastball as he utilized it 34% of the time, per Baseball Savant.
His curveball also registered five strikeouts. And Cameron has allowed three runs or fewer in 14 of his 17 career home starts.
“Just obviously trying to get as many zeroes for us as we can,” Cameron said.
But Cameron got no run support and the Royals lost 2-0 to the Mariners on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
“Obviously, tough loss,” Cameron said. “You know, we’re definitely feeling it. Definitely looking forward to getting back in the win column.”
Cameron earned a no decision in the start. The Royals wasted his solid performance. Cameron got 45 swings and 12 whiffs on the night out of the Mariners. It was arguably his best start since April 7 against the Cleveland Guardians.
The Royals have lost four straight games and 10 of their last 11. Since May 6, the club has been outscored 64-43 and has lost 12 of 15 games during that span.
“These losses suck,” said Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino “But, you know for me, once 10 o’clock hits, it’s on to tomorrow. That’s all we can do. Pick ourselves back up and get ready to go.”
It was Mariners standout pitcher Logan Gilbert who shut out the Royals on Friday.
Gilbert matched Cameron at each turn. Gilbert surrendered two hits — one to Pasquantino and the other to Maikel Garcia. Gilbert struck out six in 5 2/3 innings.
KC had a chance to break the scoreless tie in the sixth inning. Garcia got aboard with a single and advanced on a throwing error to second base. Two batters later, Pasquantino walked to set up a scoring chance.
Royals captain Salvador Perez stood at the plate with two outs against Mariners right-handed reliever Eduard Bazardo. He retired Perez and kept the game scoreless.
“I think some of the at-bats were competitive,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “And there were some hard-hit balls with nothing to show for it against them as well. So, I mean, that’s part of it. You got to have some batted-ball luck at times and we’re not getting that right now.”
The Royals turned to their bullpen in the seventh inning, inserting right-hander Nick Mears into the game.
Things didn’t go well. Mears allowed a leadoff walk to Mariners second baseman Cole Young. Next, Mitch Garver hit a two-run homer over the left-field wall as the Mariners took a 2-0 lead.
“Just execute pitches,” Mears said. “Kind of all it really boils down to is: just execute pitches. If you do that, no walk, no homer in a perfect world.”
The Royals were unable to rebound. The offensive struggles continued as KC finished with nine strikeouts on the night.
Bazardo completely overmatched the KC trio of Carter Jensen, Jac Caglianone and Isaac Collins in the seventh inning. He struck out the side with his sweeper and sinker combination.
Still, the Royals had a scoring opportunity in the eighth. After Michael Massey and Garcia got aboard with one out, Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. represented the go-ahead run. However, Witt flied out, and Pasquantino lined out to end the scoring threat.
Seattle (25-27) won their first game in the season series. And, KC was shutout for the fourth time while owning a 13-14 home record so far this season.
“We’re working on it, and it hasn’t been our year yet,” Pasquantino said. “But, we got another opportunity tomorrow, and we’re going to be ready for it.”
What’s next: Royals right-hander Stephen Kolek (2-0, 4.24 ERA) will start on Saturday afternoon opposite Mariners righty George Kirby (5-3, 3.45 ERA). First pitch is set for 3:10 p.m. Central Time.
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 9:49 PM with the headline "Royals continue to tumble. Inside Friday’s shutout loss to the Seattle Mariners."
