Royals POSTCAST: Noah Cameron, Kansas City Royals Even Up CRUCIAL Series With Minnesota Twins

Royals POSTCAST: Noah Cameron, Kansas City Royals Even Up CRUCIAL Series With Minnesota Twins

This is the Royals Post Cast, your instant game reaction for the Kansas City Royals, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in to the Royals postcast here on the Locked On Network. Your team every day. I’m your host, Chance Lebo, and I am here to bring you reaction to every single Royals game the rest of the way. You can follow me on Twitter, Chance Lebo. That is Ca Li B Au. If you can’t make a show live, do not worry. These episodes will be uploaded for you to listen to on demand wherever you get your podcast. Want to say thank you for making the Locked on Royals podcast or the Royals Postcast your first listen of the day. Before we get started, remember to subscribe to the channel and turn on our notifications and like the video. Thank you so much for joining the show and feel free to join the live chat and let me know your thoughts on the game. And I’ll do my best to respond to some comments. Getting to some right here. Um, what a job by Noah Cameron, says Oido. And I’d have to agree. I mean, it was uh it was quite the impressive performance by Noah Cameron. Twins going 0 for seven as a whole against Cameron with runners in scoring position. One of the most notable things uh they talked about in the late innings in the broadcast, they did not give up a uh or they did not get a one, two, three inning until the eighth inning. So, u just a really impressive performance by the Royals pitching staff tonight, working in and out of jams, being able to do so much tonight that led them to a big win. Um we talked about it numerous times. I mean, in the last week, in the last six days, we’ve talked about it too much. How they just needed to go 500 or they needed to go above 500 on this road trip. They needed to be 500 going into the uh going into the final uh going into the home stand. They had to go 500. And they finally are, you know, within striking distance of 500. They are now 58 and 59. And we are talking about a team that is uh in a position right now to be competing for a wild card spot. I’m going to pull up. They were four and a half games out in the wild card standings. I’m not going to pull it up because it’s not that important, but um very much they are right in the thick of things. Um I’m not asking for them to be a wildcard team. I’m asking them for I’m asking for them to be competitive. If that’s what they are for the rest of the season, then we’ve got a Royals team that we can cheer for the rest of the way. But let’s get right into it with our first segment. Here’s what you’ll be talking about. This is what you’ll be talking about. It’s Noah Cameron and uh go uh a unorthodox shutout for Noah Cameron. Um usually when guys have shutout outings, they are just dominant from start to back, from front to back. And that was not Noah Cameron tonight. He had he did not have very good stuff. Um he gave up uh on the night. I’m looking at the box score right now. Gave up it looks like uh six hard hit balls, two walks. Um in terms of his Savant, like if he was in the strike zone, um tonight, Noah Cameron was 51% in the zone and he wasn’t getting very much chase, 18% chase rate on the night. So just from a analytical standpoint, he was pretty pretty meh. Um, but for him to be able to work in and out of jams, I mean, there were multiple times tonight and the Royals offense just didn’t do enough to win a game. They were lucky that they got what they did out of Noah Cameron, but 0 for seven with runners in scoring position. Royce Lewis as a whole, I believe Royce Lewis was 0 for four with runners in scoring position on the night. He was horrible. I mean, I he needs to be on the uh the Guardians list for investigations into gambling because uh Royce Lewis um uh struck him out uh Cameron struck him out to end the first inning, stranded a runner at third. Then a couple innings later, Royce Lewis had a double play that ended the third with a runner uh with a runner at third, first and third. And then a couple of innings later, F7 that ended the inning. and then a couple of innings later um punched out with two runners on um to end the inning. So, if you look at it, the Twins as a unit had 10 runners left on base tonight. I’d say that as a whole um I’d say seven of those were because of Royce Lewis. I mean, the ability to get that guy out was a key for the Royals tonight. And that’s the same guy that hit a leadoff homer against him last year has had some relative success against him so far this season. But um just a unique uh shutout for this pitching staff that I mean you have to be impressed by what they were able to do tonight. Um just tip your cap to the pitching staff as a whole. Noah Cameron he I don’t know it’s like he’s got a magnet in his spine that he just loves to have his back up against the wall. And that’s one of the guys that you love to have on your team. The one of the guys that you hate to have to watch because you never know what you’re going to get on a game inameout basis. It kind of raises your blood pressure a little bit, but with Noah Cameron just absolutely loves to pitch with his back up against the wall and he did a fantastic job tonight of doing just that as the Royals win two to nothing. Um on the night Noah Cameron uh finishes with five and two/3, six hits, no earned runs, two walks, and four strikeouts. That’s more than enough on a night in nightout basis for anybody to really get a win and for Noah Cameron to do it. Um, this is a guy that is at his best probably a three or a two or a three starter for a bad team. Um, but he’s got a really high floor and that’s what you love about him. I mean, you’re never going to mistake him for an ace. I don’t think he’ll ever be mistaken for an ace, but you can you can win games with Noah Cameron as your third or fourth starter. You can be a playoff team with Noah Cameron as your third or fourth starter. And that’s what he is right now for the Royals. and he just does a fantastic job of getting guys out. It’s not pretty a lot of the time. He’s not a guy that’s going to overpower you with overbearing stuff. He’s a guy that is going to give you some high quality innings and is going to do so um when you really don’t see it coming. So, give credit where credit’s due. That was a really tough outing to watch as a fan. A really tough outing to watch as a fan. But, man, give a give a hat tip to the entire pitching staff, not just Noah Cameron. uh the entire pitching staff as a whole. Anel Serpa did get out of an inning, but that was the his only outing. Hunter Harvey still scoreless on the season. Lucas Erskig finally gets a good inning and Carlos Estz shuts him down in the ninth. So, you are in a really good position right now as a Royals pitching staff going into your home stand feeling confident about yourselves to be able to go up against uh two really bad offenses. Um Oette asking, “What dog breed do I have?” Uh that’s uh that’s actually my girlfriend’s dog right now. Um so I am on dogsitting duty right now, but I do have a uh I do have a corgi and she’s got an uh an Australian Shepherd. That is probably what you heard uh behind me right there. But uh when we come back, we will talk about the offense. Matt Couturo deciding to change up the lineup again. We’ll talk about what that means and if I think it is a realistic thing we can see moving forward coming up next on the Royals Post. We have all been there, logging on early and waiting forever for concert tickets to go on sale only only to lose your spot for a show you’ve been dying to see. Live music should be about making memories, not dealing with the stress of ticket shopping. That’s where Game Time comes in. Game time makes getting concert tickets faster and easier than ever. Prices actually drop as it gets closer to showtime, and you can save up to 60% off with their killer lastminute deals. Tired of endless scrolling trying to find the best deal? Game time zone deals. Pick the best seats in your section for you. Take the guesswork out of buying concert and show tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code locked on MLB for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. This episode is also brought to you by Prize Picks, the daily fantasy platform that lets you turn your football predictions into real rewards. Preseason is already heating up and college football isn’t far behind. It’s the perfect time to lock in your seasonl long more or less picks for the 2025 football season, all before week one kicks off. Whether you’ve got your eye on bigname quarterbacks or breakout running backs, prize picks makes it easy to get into the game. I’ve used prize picks for a few seasons now and love how simple it is. I can get a lineup in before my coffee even finishes brewing. The flex play option is a total gamecher. Even when one of your picks misses, you still double your money. Download the prize picks app today and use code locked on MLB to get $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup. That’s code locked on MLB to get $50 in lineups after your first $5 play. Prize picks run your game. All right. Um, the offense had they changed up the lineup tonight. Uh, they went with Mel Garcia in the leadoff spot. Um, I thought that was a bit interesting for them to do, especially with how uh how well Mike Ystreky had done the leadoff spot. I mean, he homered last night. So, I’m going to look and see what the splits look like for Bailey Ober um in terms of his seasonl long splits against lefty righty because maybe he’s a little bit harder on lefties. um looks like I mean he’s pretty bad against both if I’m being honest. I mean there’s really not much of a difference. Righties are hitting a little bit better off of him this season, but for them to go to Mikel Garcia tonight in the leadoff spot, I think it’s more so a vote of confidence in him going forward. Um just shifting things up, I don’t love him as a leadoff guy. I don’t think he is a leadoff guy at his best. I think Mikel Garcia, if Bobby Whit Jr. didn’t exist on this Royals team. Uh Mikel Garcia would be the two-hole hitter and that would be where I put him for the rest of his career, but Royals are obviously in a situation where they have a Bobby Wick Jr. and I don’t think Mikel Garcia is a great leadoff guy. We saw it a lot last season, but the way he’s approached the plate this season, I feel like he’s someone you can at least be reliable with in the strike zone um to be able to put a ball in play and, you know, put together some quality ABS. I think this has been a career year for Mel Garcia, something we have not really expected from him. And you know, while I want to be a little bit skeptical of him as a leadoff guy, um I still think he’s a a respectable hitter in the leadoff spot, he’s better than Jonathan India in the leadoff spot. And I’ll admit that now after seeing what he did tonight with an RBI double. He got on base three times. It was exactly what you wanted from a guy like Michael Garcia. But I don’t think it’s a long-term solution. I’d rather see Mike Ystrek in the leadoff spot. And then if it’s a lefty, then yeah, absolutely. Mike El Garcia absolutely can hit against left-handed pitchers in the leadoff spot. And you get a little bit more versatile bottom of the order. And you don’t have to play Jonathan India in a leadoff spot that he’s just not really comfortable with right now. So, um, I am in a position where I do believe that he is not a leadoff guy, but in a spurt, in a day where Mike Stressky doesn’t have a good matchup and Jonathan India is in a slump, absolutely, I’m fine with them hitting Mel Garcia uh in the leadoff spot against a team like that. And against a guy like Bailey Ober who has better numbers against left-handed pit uh left-handed batters than righties. Um, and then, uh, tomorrow, um, it’ll be, I believe it’s still Ba I I believe it’s still Bailey Ober going tomorrow or, uh, sorry, Ryan Burger going tomorrow. Let me check Fan Graphs right now. They’re usually pretty up to date on that. I know it’s still up in the air when Jack was talking about on Mailbag Friday. Fan Graphs usually does a good job of updating things, but it looks like it will be Ryan Bert against Jose Urana tomorrow. and Jose Urana. Um, a guy the Royals have not seen much and a guy that’s really bounced around the league a ton. I’m pulling up his uh his page right now, his baseball reference page. I mean, he’s got a he’s played for at now 11 teams in his big league career. I’m going to pull up his uh splits to see if he’s ever had any success against the Royals, if he’s played against them before. Um, probably something I should do before the show, but obviously wanted to uh prepare accordingly. I mean, he’s only had four appearances uh in in those just one start. I don’t think it’s anything you can really base too much out of him. Uh in 12 and two/3 innings, he’s only got two strikeouts and three walks. So, something I think you can somewhat rely on as the Royals are going to be a little bit more competitive tomorrow. Bay Ober has been at some points pitching well, but uh then again, um I think he’s a respectable big league pitcher against a Twins team. I know that there were some people in the comments last night that were saying, “Well, this is a quote unquote depleted Twins team.” They are. Uh, we saw their A team last night. You don’t get to play that every single day. Joe Ryan doesn’t get a pitch five days in a week. So, um, we’ll see a more toned down version of the Twins tomorrow. I I pro I I do believe. And maybe we’ll see Luke May I think Luke Mey will catch tomorrow. So, we’ll see Salvi in the DH spot. So, a little bit of a different lineup tomorrow, I would expect. Maybe we see Mike Striky back in leadoff spot, but should be interesting going into tomorrow. All right, let’s get to some comments before we get out of here. Um, OED saying, “Venny has been awful.” Yeah, sub 200 um since the uh since the All-Star break has not been fantastic. Um, pitching staff was great. Um, uh, Bowlolan saying, “I wouldn’t be shocked if I saw Michael Massie on the 10-day injured list next season.” Um, he’s a regular there. he uh he tends to be there plenty. Um looking at uh some comments, uh Curtis saying, “However, the offense continues not to shove against starters with five plus eras.” Yeah. Um but Bailey Ober is a guy that’s pitched well against the Royals this season. He’s obviously pitched well against them. Um didn’t do very well against them last year, but definitely uh interesting to see um them not do well against bad pitchers, but I I I’m not sure. Um OED, he said, “I said something that was so savage.” Um, what did I say that was? Savage. I don’t know what I said. Um, my corgi, my corgi’s name is Hyatt. Um, and her, uh, her Australian Shepherd’s name is Scarlet. Um, and they’re both very good boys and girls. Um, uh, Sharon says, I think India is going to be the seven hole for the rest of the season. Thoughts? Yeah, I think that’s probably the best spot for him in the lineup. Obviously came through with an RBI late tonight, but that batting average is still pretty low. OPS is pretty bad. Um, but I think that uh like Kevin said with runners in scoring position hitting over 300 with a good slug. I think that that’s a position that he’s probably going to be in a lot more this season. Uh, and definitely would like to see him there more often. Uh, Parker says, “Non-Royals question and as a Colts fan, how do you like DJ Giddens?” Love DJ Giddens. Uh, I actually grew up 10 minutes away from DJ Giddens. I played against DJ Giddens in seven on seven. That’s how young I am and how close I live to DJ Giddens. Funny story about him, he didn’t play varsity until his senior year. Um, when we played Junction City in like seven on seven stuff in the off seasonason, he was not even on the team. I was a year older than him. Uh, and so I never even saw him play it, like I played against the team he was on, but he never played. He was JV until he was a senior. So to see him do what he did at K State and obviously now for my favorite NFL team, the Colts. Absolutely love to see it. Um, OED saying, “Jack said India won’t be back next season. and what’s your opinion? Um, I think they at least need to look for a uh for an upgrade. Um, I don’t think that they can do what they’ve been doing. Um, I think they at least have to look for an upgrade at second base. Um, I don’t think Michael Massie is an option at second base next year. He’s ARB eligible. I don’t think they want to pay him an arbitration number, especially with how injuryprone he’s been. And if you can find an upgrade at second base, if you can find a third baseman that you can play, I mean, Aueno Suarez is a gonna be a free agent. That’s a guy that um they had interest in at some at one point this season. Michael Garcia can play second base. I don’t know if that’s his best position, but um there is obviously a need to upgrade some positions at the plate. I think they should look anywhere and everywhere. I mean, you can upgrade in the outfield, third base, and second base. Just o open yourself up to opportunities. Um don’t hold yourself to just one spot that you can upgrade in. I think that uh I think that Jonathan India is an upgradeable position um based on what we saw from him this year. Uh Gary said, “I like Massie.” I don’t. Um I’m not a huge fan of Michael Massie. I’ve made that very known. He is literally the worst fast ball hitter in Major League Baseball, or at least he was before he got hurt. Um and that’s one of the most essential things that needs to happen as a baseball player is being able to hit fast balls. But um I appreciate you guys for being here tonight. Appreciate all of the comments. Bill saying Cole update. I imagine that means Cole Reagan’s. I haven’t heard anything. I would imagine that he is kind of uh they’re playing it safe. I would imagine that they are being as safe as possible with Cole Reagan’s and it would be a bit of a surprise if he was back uh before the roster expansion, but um definitely uh something that Royals fans are curious about and I appreciate the uh the question. Um Curtis says, “Please see my comment about tomorrow’s game being on Roku.” Um, uh, trying to look for it, Curtis. I’m sorry about that. I don’t see a comment about the Roku game except for bullpen game tomorrow for the Twins. That’s the only comment I’m seeing from you, Curtis. Um, but yeah, game on Roku tomorrow. I believe it’s free. I I’m sure everybody’s got a Roku app. I know I do. Um, but, uh, if if not, uh, Stream East is always available if you want to, uh, do that. But, um, definitely appreciate you guys all for being here tonight. We will see you tomorrow. It’ll be a earlier show tomorrow. We’ll get in and out of here. It’s a noon first pitch. So, we’ll get in and out of here real fast. Probably around 2:30, 3:00 tomorrow, we’ll be doing this show and then sending you into the home stand where the Royals will have nine home games in a row. Appreciate you guys for being here. Be sure to like and subscribe to the channel and we will see you tomorrow for another edition of the Royals Post.

Chance Liebau reacts to game two between the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins. We discuss an unorthodox shutout from Noah Cameron, Maikel Garcia’s performance in the leadoff spot, and take some listener questions from the chat!

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
5-Hour ENERGY
Time to fuel up and turn it up with 5-hour ENERGY®️ Transfusion! Go to https://5hourenergy.com today and use my promo code LOCKEDONGOLF to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders.

PrizePicks
Download the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONMLB to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.
PrizePicks — Run Your Game.
Click Link Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONMLB

Gameday Hue
Let your colors talk—because colors speak louder than words. Right now, you can get 15% off with code MLB15 at GamedayHue.com.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONMLB at monarchmoney.com/lockedonmlb for 50% off your first year.

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)