Royals ride momentum of shutout into finale vs. Twins

The Kansas City Royals have an opportunity to win their second series in Minneapolis this season when they face the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon.

Despite a forgettable 2026, Kansas City has won six of nine against the Twins this year after a 4-0 victory on Wednesday. The Royals took three of four from Minnesota at Target Field from June 4-7.

"We're just going to keep stacking the days," said Kansas City shortstop Tyler Tolbert, who had two hits and a home run on Wednesday.

"We're just trying to focus on today and trust our preparation and let chips fall where they may as long as we give it our all."

Kansas City is slated to start left-hander Noah Cameron (5-8, 4.93 ERA) in the series finale, who will be coming off arguably the best outing of his second major-league season.

Appearing out of the bullpen for the first time since debuting in April 2025, Cameron tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing just a pair of hits while striking out eight and walking three in a no-decision against the Detroit Tigers on Friday. The Royals lost 2-1 as opener Beck Way surrendered two first-inning runs.

"(Cameron's) fastball was down in the zone and his breaking ball was down below the zone. You saw a lot of uncomfortable swings, a lot of chase," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. "I thought his cutter was really good, but that was by far the best hit curveball and slider have been. ... He was really, really good and he threw with more conviction than he had been doing."

Cameron, 27, has dominated Minnesota, sporting a 3-0 record and a 0.77 ERA in four career matchups. The left-hander has allowed just one earned run in 11 innings across two starts against the Twins this year, earning wins on April 1 and June 7.

Boasting an American League high-tying 514 runs, Minnesota was blanked for the second time in five games on Wednesday.

The Twins also failed to gain ground in the American League Central. Minnesota trails the division-leading Chicago White Sox by three games while sitting behind the second-place Cleveland Guardians by 1 1/2 games.

Right-hander Bailey Ober (7-3, 4.56) will make his fourth start since returning from a month-plus absence due to right elbow inflammation. Ober is 1-0 with a 4.40 ERA in three starts since his reappearance.

Last time out, the 6-foot-9 right-hander tied a season-low with four innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, striking out two and walking one on 89 pitches in a no-decision against Cleveland on July 22. The Twins won 10-4.

"It looked like he was out of sync with his delivery," Minnesota manager Derek Shelton said of Ober's latest start. "After we took him out, he said the same thing. The first two innings, he was just battling himself. You very rarely see him throw that many pitches. The execution wasn't bad, it was just inconsistent."

Ober, 31, is 1-5 with a 4.74 ERA in 14 career starts against the Royals.

--Field Level Media