By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph's Noah Cameron spun the best start of his major league baseball career for the Kansas City Royals, but as it has several times this year, the Royals bullpen fell apart in the ninth inning leading to a walk off grand slam and a 4-3 win for the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
Cameron walked Austin Martin to start the game, but settled in from there, retiring the next 14 batters, before walking Brooks Lee to open the sixth inning. Through six innings, Cameron did not surrender a hit, Ryan Jeffers breaking up the no hitter in the seventh with a leadoff single. Cameron threw eight innings giving up just the lone hit and walking two, while striking out seven.
He left the mound on pace for the win as well, Jac Caglianone gave the Royals the lead in the third inning after John Rave doubled, Caglianone blasted a 438 foot home run to right field for. In the fifth, Rave extended that lead with another double, scoring Carter Jensen for a 3-0 Kanas City lead.
The Royals brought on Lucas Erceg in the ninth inning for the save. Erceg started off on the right track, striking out Trevor Larnach and forcing pinch hitter Victor Caratini to line out to Tyler Tolbert. But with two outs, Erceg hit Jeffers with a pitch before giving up a single to Royce Lewis, then walking Josh Bell to load the bases. Matt Strahm came on to face Kody Clemens in a lefty-lefty matchup, and got Clemens down 0-2 before Clemens hit the walk off grand slam.
It was Strahm's fourth blown save of the season, dropping him to 3-4. The Royals have now lost four games in the ninth inning with two outs, three of those with two strikes and two outs. Kansas City has nine blown leads in the ninth inning or later. 20 losses have come in the eighth inning or later.
At the plate, Caglianone was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Rave was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a run scored. Isaac Collins and Tyler Tolbert also recorded two hits in the game.
Kansas City now travels to race the Colorado Rockies. Michael Wacha (5-7, 3.60 ERA, 104K's) takes the mound for the Royals against Tomoyuki Sugano (10-4, 4.69 ERA, 56K's) for the Rockies. First pitch is at 6:40pm, pregame at 6 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.