CHICAGO -- The first inning started innocuously enough for Noah Cameron. White Sox leadoff hitter Chase Meidroth sent a soft liner up the third-base line, playable for Maikel Garcia until he lost it at the last second and it bounced off the heel of his glove, with Garcia running into third-base umpire Chris Segal while trying to corral it.
But by the time the first inning was over, Cameron had thrown 33 pitches and allowed three runs off three doubles.
And by the time Monday night was over, Cameron had yielded a season high-tying six runs across five innings in the Royals’ 7-0 series-opening loss to the White Sox at Rate Field.
It was, on all fronts, an ugly game for the Royals as they sought to quickly move past a series loss in Detroit over the weekend. Cameron, who has established himself in the American League Rookie of the Year race, did not look like himself. Kansas City’s offense, which has looked like a dangerous and resilient one since the All-Star break, managed two hits total.
And even that hit hurt. After Kyle Isbel represented the first baserunner for the Royals, he wasn’t able to score from first when Mike Yastrzemski hit a double that bounced over the left-center-field wall. Isbel had to stop at third.
The frame ended one pitch later, when Bobby Witt Jr. grounded out.
“An inch shorter or a couple feet further, a run scores, but that’s how it goes sometimes,” Yastrzemski said. “Never upset about getting a hit, but in terms of where the game was at, it would have been nice to get one across there.”
White Sox starter Shane Smith allowed just one more baserunner after that, when Yastrzemski walked in the sixth inning.
Cameron has been on a remarkable run of consistency in his first big league season, with a 2.92 ERA in 19 starts. As he blows past his career high in innings (140 2/3 between Triple-A and MLB this year, compared to 128 2/3 innings in the Minors last year), Cameron has allowed more than two runs in just five in his 19 starts this year.
The Yankees (six runs on June 10) and Dodgers (five runs on June 27) roughed him up, but Monday was the first time a non-contending team hit Cameron as hard and quickly as the White Sox did.
“Got to be better for the team, especially in the first inning,” Cameron said. “It just sets the tone for the rest of the game. I came out for the second inning, third inning felt really good to just keep them there and give us a chance to win. Eat some innings for the team. Crappy fourth inning just to ruin the whole day.”
The three doubles in the first inning all came with two strikes, including Lenyn Sosa’s double to right field on a curveball below the zone. Cameron isn’t a high-strikeout pitcher, but he didn’t record any on Monday, while registering just four whiffs on 40 swings (10%). He mentioned he and the coaching staff will study video to see if he was tipping any pitches.
“Just got to be a little better executing, making guys chase. No strikeouts tonight, so got to get some swing and miss. I love pitching to contact -- I’d rather somebody hit a single than walk somebody. But I’ve got to execute a little better with two strikes.”
In the fourth, Cameron allowed back-to-back two-out homers to Korey Lee and Brooks Baldwin.
A game like Monday is a tough one to swallow given the context of the standings.
Kansas City (67-65) now sits four games back of Seattle (71-61) for the third AL Wild Card spot with the Mariners’ 9-6 win over the Padres. The two teams’ first series this week could not be more different: The Royals are playing the White Sox (48-83), while the Mariners are playing the Padres (74-58), who are one game back of the Dodgers (75-57) atop the National League West.
That’s a big series for Seattle, while Kansas City is 8-3 against the White Sox this season, already clinching the season series for a fifth straight year.
The Royals aren’t going to win every game the rest of the way. But every game matters, each one more than most as the schedule shrinks. Kansas City now has just 30 games to fight its way into a playoff spot.
Monday’s result didn’t help.
But in what has become a common phrase heard around the Royals’ clubhouse: It’s onto the next.
“[Smith] put us on our heels, and we just didn’t come out with a whole lot of energy today,” Yastrzemski said. “Hopefully, we recognize that and bounce back tomorrow.”