Royals strive for rare road series victory in matchup against Angels

Left-hander Noah Cameron will try to help the Kansas City Royals win their first road series in almost 2 1/2 months when he takes the mound Sunday afternoon in the rubber game of a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.

The Royals, who at 21-44 have the worst road record in the majors, haven't won a road series since June 4-7, when they took three of four games from the Minnesota Twins.

Cameron (6-8, 4.45 ERA) is 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA in two career starts against Los Angeles but has never pitched in Angel Stadium. He has a 1.57 ERA in his last four starts, with 26 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.

Angels right-hander Ryan Johnson (2-6, 6.71 ERA) will make his first career start against Kansas City and the 12th of his career. The Angels have won his last two starts, as he has allowed two earned runs on six hits and seven walks over nine innings while striking out six.

Kansas City, behind a home run and a career-high five RBIs by Jac Caglianone, won the series opener 7-6 on Friday but managed just two hits in a 1-0 loss on Saturday for the team's fifth setback in six games.

Los Angeles left-hander Reid Detmers, who hadn't won a home game as a starter since April 6, 2024, against Boston, snapped an American League-record-tying 21-start home winless drought, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out 11 over eight innings.

"I don't think about that stuff," Detmers told MLB.com when asked about ending the streak. "It was obviously nice to get a win at home. But it felt good to give the team a chance to win and a really good outcome."

"He grinded his butt off, and to be able to give him the win, it means a lot," said first baseman Nolan Schanuel, who singled in pinch runner Jose Siri from second in the bottom of the eighth for the only run of the game. "Hopefully, we can celebrate a little bit in the clubhouse today and do it again tomorrow."

It was the first win in five tries against Kansas City this season for the Angels, who have won four of their last five games.

Detmer's performance overshadowed a strong start by Kansas City's Randy Dobnak, who allowed four hits and walked two over 5 2/3 shutout innings while striking out six.

Dobnak is 2-1 with a 1.73 ERA in eight appearances (six starts) for the Royals since being acquired from the Seattle Mariners on June 17 for cash considerations.

"Couldn't have asked for much more from him," Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. "He's been putting up zeros. That's what I like the most."

Caglianone singled in the fourth on Saturday to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest active hitting streak in the majors. Second baseman Michael Massey also singled to improve to 7-for-18 in five games against the Angels this season.

Massey was asked Saturday what a win Sunday would mean for the team at the end of a trip that began with getting swept in three competitive games by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"That's what you're trying to do, right, win series," he said. "We have an opportunity to that tomorrow. Recover here and come back tomorrow and get them."

--Field Level Media