Noah Cameron walked confidently off the mound for the final time in the 2025 season. And it was eerily similar to how his rookie season began.
Regardless of the result, Cameron had given the Kansas City Royals a chance to win the ballgame.
It’s been his calling card since joining the Royals. In late April, Cameron made his Major League Baseball debut against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. It was a unique challenge to make a first MLB start in a minor-league stadium.
Nearly five months later, Cameron finished his rookie season in a similar environment. The St. Joseph, Missouri native pitched 4 2/3 innings against the Athletics in a 4-3 loss at Sutter Health Park on Friday night.
“I think I didn’t have my best stuff,” Cameron said. “I was a little tired and got kind of tired there late. I thought we did alright and kind of stuck to the game plan.”
It was another minor-league stadium. Much like the first time — and all his starts before it, leading to a 9-7 record — Cameron wasn’t fazed by his surroundings.
He just kept pitching.
“It was hard work for him,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You know, he threw a bunch of pitches the first couple of innings and the pitch count got up there. You look up in the fifth (inning) and he’s given us a chance to win.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t get out of there. The walks hurt us in the fifth.”
The Royals needed it on Friday night. The offense faced solid pitching — particularly from former KC prospect Mason Barnett — in the series opener.
“I went out and gave a big hug,” Cameron said of seeing Barnett before the game. “Just wished him good luck and stuff. He is awesome. Just hopefully (I’m) pitching against him in a lot of games.”
Barnett didn’t make many mistakes in his start. However, Royals second baseman Jonathan India tagged him with a three-run homer in the fourth inning. India belted a 83.4 mph sweeper over the left-field wall to give the Royals the lead.
“Overall, I still felt a little off-time at the plate,” India said. “But it was a good swing for sure in that at-bat.”
It was India’s first homer since Aug. 17 against the Chicago White Sox. But the Royals wouldn’t score the rest of the night. In the bottom of the ninth, Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers hit a walk-off double to win the game.
Cameron didn’t factor into the decision. He pitched effectively until he ran into trouble in the fifth inning. Two walks were the culprit for his short outing, as he left with the bases loaded and two outs.
“We jumped out to a 3-0 lead and Noah pitched his tail off,” India said. “He did really well tonight. Yeah, they just showed some heart and came back.”
The Royals turned to right-handed reliever Taylor Clarke to finish the inning. He allowed a three-run double to Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson to tie the game.
Cameron was charged with all three runs.
He finished the 2025 campaign with a 2.99 ERA in 138 1/3 innings. His earned-run average is the third-best all-time for a Royals rookie — minimum 20 starts — behind only Paul Splittorff (2.68 ERA) in 1971 and Kevin Appier (2.76 ERA) in 1990.
“I’m just really happy with the majority of the starts this year and being able to pitch deep to give us a chance to win,” Cameron said. “It’s all you can really ask out of starting pitchers. And thankfully it’s been really good as far as that goes.”
As for the Royals, they dropped to 80-80 this season. They must win their last two games to finish with a winning record for the second consecutive year.
“We want to win these last games for sure,” India said. “We want to finish positive and that’s our goal.”
What’s next: Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (9-13, 4.00 ERA) will make his final regular-season start on Saturday night against the Athletics. He will be opposed by right-hander Luis Morales (4-2, 3.07 ERA).