Chins up, everyone.
Unless the Royals winning streak had hit 25 games, they weren’t going to make the playoffs. And so they fell 16 games short of it. So what? That was quite the enjoyable stretch of baseball, and despite losing last night, I’m looking forward to tonight’s game.
Noah Cameron is back on the mound.
Cameron became one of the team’s highlights last year when helped keep the season afloat. He struggled at the start of this season, but he’s been incredible through his last six outings, five
of them starts, one a long relief appearance. In those six outings, Cameron’s tossed 42-and-2/3 innings, allowed just five earned runs, good for a 1.05 ERA and 2.31 FIP, as he’s struck out 36 batters, hit one of them, walked only 12 batters, and surrendered 15 hits, none of which have left the yard.
The Royals went 3-3 in those games.
He takes on the Blue Jays, a team he faced twice last year but hasn’t dealt with yet in 2026. Of course, the Blue Jays ended the Royals’ nine-game winning streak last evening, blanking the Royals, 3-0.
Toronto sends to the mound righty Spencer Arrighetti, who’s making only his second appearance with the Blue Jays after being acquired at the deadline from the Houston Astros. For the year, Arrighetti is 7-6 with a 4.73 ERA, 5.11 FIP (yikes), 1.347 WHIP, 91 strikeouts, and 52 walks.
To the lineups!
Against the righty, the Royals opt for a left-handed hitting third baseman in Joshua Rojas over Nick Loftin. With Michael Massey now on the I.L., Isaac Collins shifts to second base with John Rave taking over left field. The rest of the lineup is pretty normal.
The Royals haven’t faced Arrighetti much—Salvador Perez has the most at-bats against him with five—but in limited action, Vinnie Pasquantino, Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Isbel, Jac Caglianone, and Carter Jensen have success against him.
Most of that action came this year, back on June 14 when the Royals shutout the Astros, 4-0, in a game in which Stephen Kolek started, Kameron Misner started in center, and Lane Thomas patrolled right. Feels like a different season.
Before the season began, I picked Kazuma Okamoto to win the American League Rookie of the Year. Why? Well, 99% of the reason is because his name is Kazuma Okamoto. The other 1% is because he’s a hard-hitting third baseman. The 30-year-old, playing his first year in the Majors after a career spent in Japan, has a .737 OPS with 26 homers and 74 RBIs, but he won’t win the AL ROY.
Still has a baller name, though.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s career is so interesting. I may write about this more before the end of the season, at which point I’ll be departing Royals Review, but Vlad Jr. is “Exhibit A” for the case of baseball players peaking much earlier in their careers during this era than any other. Vlad Jr. broke out as a 22-year-old when he finished second in MVP voting as he smacked 48 homers, scored 123 runs, drove in 111 runs, and slashed .311/.401/.601 for an OPS 67% above league-average.
Since, he’s slugged over .500 just once. This year, he’s down to .353. And it’s not just his slugging—his OBP has fallen from .396 in 2024 to .334 this season. Still only 27, he’s only homered seven times this year. What gives?
I don’t know, but he’s not the only active player with such a career arc. If I have the time, I’ll dig into it.
First pitch tonight: 6:07 P.M.
