The Los Angeles Angels got absolutely blanked, 3-0, by the Kansas City Royals to wrap up their home stand, but trust me, it could have been a whole lot uglier. The Angels were staring down a no-hitter for most of the game, narrowly avoiding total humiliation thanks to a single bloop in the seventh inning.
One Hit, One Walk, Zero Runs, and a Whole Lot of Relief
Royals starter Noah Cameron was absolutely lights out, dealing pure filth from the mound. This dude was perfect through five innings, just carving up the Angels lineup and making them look silly. He finally issued a walk to Oswald Peraza to kick off the sixth, breaking up the perfect game, but still held the Angels hitless for another 1.1 innings after that. Think about that: 19 outs without a single hit. The Angels, who hold the longest active streak in baseball for not being no-hit at 4,256 games, were on the precipice of seeing that incredible run end. Then, with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Vaughn Grissom came through, blooping a single right over Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop to finally spoil the no-hit bid. It was a single hit, the Angels’ only hit of the entire game, and it was enough. Cameron still finished with a complete game shutout, giving up just that one hit and one walk, while striking out eight. Seriously impressive stuff, if you’re a Royals fan.
Ryan Johnson Shows Grit, Grissom Makes a Game-Saving Play
On the Angels’ side, Ryan Johnson was on the bump and, while he wasn’t dominating like Cameron, he definitely showed some flashes of progress. Johnson went 5.1 innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits and two walks, while punching out four. Both runs he allowed came from solo home runs, which stings, but honestly, things could have completely imploded for him if not for Vaughn Grissom making another huge play. In the second inning, Johnson was in serious trouble, giving up two hits and a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Isaac Collins ripped a hard ground ball toward first, and Grissom, who was filling in for Nolan Schanuel, made a diving, run-saving stop. He tagged first base, then fired home to Travis d’Arnaud, who made a great tag on the lead runner for a double play. Angels manager Kurt Suzuki called it a “big play” and a “huge play by Gris,” praising his composure. Johnson then forced the next batter to fly out, getting out of that bases-loaded jam without a single run scoring.
It’s clear Johnson’s trying to go deeper into games. He’d gone five innings or less in his previous eight starts, so getting into the sixth is a step forward, even if he still hasn’t consistently passed that five-inning mark. He knows he needs to be more efficient, especially avoiding those “random 3-0 counts.” That efficiency is going to be his big goal for the rest of the season, and a gritty outing like this can be a building block.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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