And a pair of Royals prospects shall lead them: Takeaways from KC’s 3-2 victory
Where would the Kansas City Royals be without rookie sensation Noah Cameron?
The left-handed starting pitcher has been a revelation. With each start, he has grown in confidence and built enough equity to stay at the big-league level.
The 25-year-old St. Joseph native aced another test Wednesday against the Reds. He allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings as the Royals beat Cincinnati 3-2 at Kauffman Stadium.
Cameron looked comfortable navigating the opposing lineup. He allowed six hits — all singles — while pitching to contact. His five-pitch arsenal kept the Reds honest and enabled the Royals to salvage a win in this three-game home series.
“I love the spotlight,” Cameron said. “Some people don’t and I just think it makes me even better. It makes me have a lot of fun and just enjoy it.”
Cameron became just the second Major League Baseball pitcher since 1893 to record 6 1/3 innings and allow one run or less in each of his first four starts.
The Royals (30-27) scored in the middle innings. Drew Waters and Bobby Witt Jr. delivered key RBIs to give Cameron some much-needed run support.
“He is just going out there and doing his job,” Witt said of Cameron. “He is doing his part. He’s just attacking the (strike) zone and getting ahead of hitters.”
The Royals’ bullpen picked up where Cameron left off. KC’s relievers Angel Zerpa, John Schreiber and Carlos Estévez shut the door, with the latter earning a four-out save.
“It’s a tremendous run,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Cameron. “When he goes out there, it feels like he is in command of what he is doing.”
The Royals expect Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans to return soon from the 15-day injured list. However, Cameron has showcased elite stuff and would seem to merit a long-term roster spot.
“It’s been obviously fun just getting wins and putting the team in a really good spot,” Cameron said. “Being able to save the bullpen and stuff like that has been awesome. And just the vibes up here are obviously amazing. Just happy to be here.”
Here are key takeaways from Wednesday’s game.
Royals manufacture runs
The Royals found another way to score in the fourth inning.
Maikel Garcia rapped a one-out single to get it started. Then he was aggressive on the basepaths. He attempted to steal second and kept running when Drew Waters ripped a single into center field.
“It’s a great guy to have in the clubhouse and (he’s) kind of our spark plug,” Witt said of Garcia.
Garcia saw Royals third base coach Vance Wilson waving and continued to accelerate around the bases. Wilson ushered him home and Garcia beat the incoming throw.
“Maikel is a great runner and has great instincts,” Quatraro said. “Vance saw that play the whole way and it was a tremendous send.”
The Royals took a 1-0 lead with that heads-up play and continued to play small ball. John Rave, called up this week, doubled and advanced to third on Dairon Blanco’s sacrifice bunt.
Rave scored two batters later.
“It’s more difficult when a guy is throwing a 100 mph,” Quatraro said of Blanco’s bunt. “He hung in there and he got it done.”
Bobby Witt Jr. snaps hitless streak
Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. endured a mini-slump this week. He was hitless in 12 at-bats before collecting an RBI double in the fifth inning.
Witt hit a line drive that hugged the right-field line. It remained fair and Rave scored from second base. It was Witt’s 29th RBI this season and gave the Royals a 2-0 lead.
Witt drove in a second run on a sacrifice fly.
“I’m just trying to do things I always do,” he said. “Just try to be prepared each and every day and just know I’m just going up there to try to help the team win.”
Witt had seen his batting average dip slightly during his slump. He entered the day hitting .289.
The Royals need Witt to be a consistent run producer. He has the talent to help them overcome their early-season struggles at the plate.
John Rave reaches milestone
Rave, who made his big-league debut on Monday, left Kauffman Stadium with a special souvenir from Wednesday’s game: the baseball from his first hit as a major-leaguer.
Rave drilled a leadoff double in the fifth off Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene, sending the ball down the right-field line. He was all smiles as he reached second base, his teammates cheering him on from the dugout.
“Definitely a weight off the shoulders,” he said. “More importantly, just happy to contribute to a win.”
The baseball Rave hit was thrown out of play. It was authenticated before being handed over to the Royals for safekeeping.
“It was probably the loudest roar I’ve heard in playing sports,” Rave said of the applause following his first big-league hit. “That was pretty cool from the fans. Then, just giving the double hit signal to my teammates was something special. And it was cool seeing they were all pumped up for me as well.”
Rave nearly registered his first hit in Monday’s game, his first with the Royals. But his apparent bunt single was overturned on review.
This time, Rave made sure his name entered the record books.
He and Andrew Hoffmann, called up Wednesday, are the latest prospects to join the big-league Royals.
“Just him being here, when I saw that, I was super-excited for him,” Waters said of Rave. “But to also go out there and smoke a double off one of the best starters in the big leagues, it was really cool to see.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 9:13 PM with the headline "And a pair of Royals prospects shall lead them: Takeaways from KC’s 3-2 victory."
