CLEVELAND
Noah Cameron is usually a cool customer. So it should come as no surprise that the Kansas City Royals pitcher can thrive in suboptimal baseball conditions.
Handed Tuesday’s start, Cameron braved frigid weather at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The temperature at first pitch was 33 degrees.
As for the overall high, it reached a steamy 38 degrees at the Ohio ballpark.
Cameron wasn’t fazed. He allowed one earned run in 5 2/3 innings, earning a no-decision in the Royals’ 2-1 loss to the Guardians.
“I think, obviously, approach it like any other start,” Cameron said of the weather. “I think hitters dislike it more than us pitchers do. I have Icy Hot on my body and I was warm the whole time. Just kind of one of those days that you just kind of grind through it.”
Regarding the weather, he wanted to get a true feel for it. So he walked barefoot on the field before game time, looking for an accurate read on what he’d be dealing with as he sought to break some bats and induce weak contact from Cleveland’s lineup.
“I was just feeling the weather a little bit,” he said. “I walked out and obviously the sun was nice. I don’t know, I was just feeling the weather and getting acclimated to it. And it was good.”
Cameron is no stranger to cold weather. The St. Joseph, Missouri native knows all about near-freezing temperatures during the winter months.
Tuesday was a little bit different. The teams decided to move game time up because colder weather was expected later in the day. Offense was limited for both clubs — the Royals had just one hit — while a total of three runs were scored.
Pitchers held the advantage. Cameron looked in his element as he navigated the Guardians’ lineup effectively. He utilized his cutter to register a 71% strike rate and kept hitters off-balance with his breaking balls.
Cameron owns a 1.53 career ERA in three starts against the Guardians. He has allowed two runs or fewer in each of those games.
The Royals fell to 5-6 with Tuesday’s loss. However, Cameron provided another dominant outing from their rotation. The Royals’ starters have allowed 19 earned runs in 59 innings this season — including one or no runs in seven of 11 games.
“It was great,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Cameron’s Tuesday outing. “I mean, he was efficient. You know, they tried to match up with their righties. He had a good changeup and good slider and he was throwing a ton of strikes. I mean, 5 2/3 (innings) and one run, you can’t ask for much more.”
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Jaylon Thompson covers the Royals for The Kansas City Star. He previously covered the 2021 World Series and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Jaylon is a proud alumnus of the University of Georgia.