Royals lefty Noah Cameron takes a no-hitter into the 7th inning in his major league debut

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Even though he was 1,300 miles from home, Kansas City left-hander Noah Cameron was able to celebrate his first major league start — and his first victory — with family and friends.

And 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 at Tampa Bay as the Royals beat the Rays 3-0. His wife, young son, parents, siblings and a few friends made the trip to root him on.

Curtis Mead’s one-out single down the left-field line ended his no-hit bid. Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro immediately removed Cameron for reliever John Schreiber.

Cameron walked off the mound toward the third-base dugout, where a contingent of Royals fans — including his family — gave him a much-deserved standing ovation.

Cameron's final line: one hit over 6 1/3 innings, with five walks and three strikeouts. He threw 79 pitches, 46 for strikes.

It was quite the MLB premiere for a 25-year-old who first decided he wanted to be a professional baseball player more than two decades ago. And even more special because Cameron grew up an hour from Kansas City.

He was 4 years old when he walked the warning track at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City with his mom as part of a school field trip. Cameron got a wave from Royals starter Zack Greinke that day and hasn't forgotten it since.

He experienced something similar against the Rays — and nearly something the club hasn't witnessed in more than three decades.

No Royals pitcher has thrown a no-hitter since Bret Saberhagen on Aug. 26, 1991, a span of 5,244 games that represents the third-longest active no-hit drought 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 did it for the Cincinnati Reds against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Oct. 15, 1892; and Tyler Gilbert accomplished the feat for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 14, 2021, against the San Diego Padres.

Cameron was recalled from Triple-A Omaha prior to Wednesday’s game, but he swore his family and friends to secrecy when he found out about the start three days earlier.

Cameron was filling in for Cole Ragans, who is dealing with a mild left groin strain. But it might be tough to send him back down after his dazzling debut.

Kansas City delivered three defensive gems to help Cameron extend his no-hit bid. In the first inning, Hunter Renfroe’s leaping catch against the right-field wall robbed Yandy Diaz of extra bases.

Cameron got out of the second after walking a pair when Maikel Garcia stabbed Mead’s hard-hit grounder and started an inning-ending, 5-4-3 double play. And in the third, Witt dived to snag Jose Caballero’s grounder in the hole and threw him out at first.

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