Royals Wrap Home Schedule Weekend with Jensen Records and Matthews Milestone
The short version
- Carter Jensen passed Mike Piazza for the most extra-base hits by a rookie catcher since at least 1947, with 62.
- Jensen's 27 home runs are a Royals rookie record, and his five RBIs Friday were a career single-game high.
- Noah Cameron allowed seven runs (six earned) in five innings in his final start of the season.
- Denny Matthews was set to call his 8,000th Royals broadcast Friday against Cleveland.
- Bobby Witt Jr. is the Royals' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.
Carter Jensen set rookie-catcher history and Denny Matthews reaches 8,000 broadcasts as Kansas City closes its season against Cleveland.
The Kansas City Royals are playing out the final days of their season, and Friday's game against the Cleveland Guardians at Kauffman Stadium delivered a rough outing for one pitcher and a historic night for a young catcher.
Left-hander Noah Cameron made the final start of his season and struggled, charged with seven runs across five innings, six of them earned. Afterward, he pointed the finger at himself. He said he made some bad pitches and that things snowbipped out of hand, noting he needs to execute better in key situations.
Rookie catcher Carter Jensen provided the offensive highlights, homering twice during the second inning and again later in the game. According to Jackson Stone of MLB.com, those two home runs gave Jensen his 61st and 62nd extra-base hits of the year, moving him past Mike Piazza's 61 for the most by a rookie catcher in MLB history dating back to at least 1947.
Jensen's accomplishments go further. His 27 home runs are already the most by a Royals rookie in franchise history, and his five RBIs on Friday marked a single-game career best. All five came in just three at-bats, and each one tied the score. He said the numbers show his hard work paying off and described 2026 as a year of growth both on and off the field, adding that he wants to keep climbing rather than settle.
Friday also carried special meaning in the broadcast booth. Longtime Royals voice Denny Matthews, who has called every game of his career from the booth, was slated to reach 8,000 career broadcasts with Friday night's contest against the Guardians. That figure came to light after a review of 86.6 percent of the scorebooks in Royals history. Matthews admitted he has not fully processed the milestone, calling it still just a number, though he joked that it amounts to a lot of foul balls.
Elsewhere in the organization, Bobby Witt Jr. was named the Royals' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, and Matt Carroll of Just Baseball argued that the club has identified its core moving forward. In stadium news, Kansas City officials have mapped out the tax zone that would fund the bonds for a proposed downtown ballpark.
The final weekend of the regular season is now at hand for Kansas City.
Fans can watch the Guardians and Royals continue their series on Saturday, September 26 at 7:10 PM EDT at Kauffman Stadium, with the game available on MLB.TV, CLEGuardians.TV and Royals.TV.
Games to watch
