The Kansas City Royals optioned Noah Cameron back to Triple-A Omaha on Thursday, one day after the left-hander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in his big league debut against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Cameron was called upon to make a spot start for staff ace Cole Ragans, who has been dealing with a sore groin. Cameron did not allow a hit until Curtis Mead‘s one-out single down the left-field line in the seventh. Royals manager Matt Quatraro promptly took him out of the game, and the Kansas City relief corps finished off the 3-0 victory over the Rays.

“You can’t put it into words,” said Cameron, who grew up rooting for the Royals in St. Joseph, Missouri, about an hour’s drive north of their home at Kauffman Stadium. “It is something I’ve always dreamed about, especially with this team. And it is just crazy. Not what you would expect, but I’m glad to get out of there with what happened. You just can’t make it up.”

No pitcher has thrown a no-hitter for Kansas City since Bret Saberhagen on Aug. 26, 1991, a span of 5,244 games that represents the third-longest active no-hit drought in the majors. Only the Guardians and Blue Jays have gone longer.

“I thought he was going to do it,” Quatraro said. “The pitch count was really manageable. … We know he throws strikes, and he was challenging guys. He had a good mix. Just really impressive.”

Kansas City delivered three defensive gems to help Cameron’s bid. In the first inning, Hunter Renfroe‘s leaping catch against the right-field wall robbed Yandy Diaz of extra bases. Maikel Garcia stabbed Mead’s hard-hit grounder in the second to start a double play. And in the third, Bobby Witt Jr. snagged Jose Caballero‘s grounder in the hole and threw him out at first.

The 25-year-old Cameron wound up throwing 79 pitches, allowing that one hit with five walks and three strikeouts over 6⅓ innings. He’s the first player to throw that many hitless frames in his big league debut since the Blue Jays’ Nick Kingham, who got two outs in the seventh inning against the Cardinals on April 29, 2018.

The splendid start by Cameron shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise. He is widely considered among the organization’s top five prospects, and he was 2-0 with a 3.22 ERA over his first five starts for Omaha this season.

In corresponding roster moves Thursday, the Royals selected right-hander Taylor Clarke from Omaha to provide some additional depth in the bullpen, and they transferred right-hander James McArthur to the 60-day injured list.

CINCINNATI — The Reds optioned struggling closer Alexis Diaz to Triple-A on Thursday in hopes that he can regain the form that helped him earn 37 saves and an NL All-Star appearance in 2023.

“We decided to let him try to figure out, get right in Triple-A,” manager Terry Francona said. “The consistency just isn’t there. It’s difficult to hear that, I’m sure. We don’t want that to derail him either.”

Diaz has more home runs (four) and walks (five) allowed than strikeouts (three) in six innings pitched since coming off the injured list April 15.

His ERA ballooned to 12.00 after he gave up three consecutive home runs in the ninth inning of a 6-0 loss to the Cardinals in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader.

Diaz began the season on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain. He had 28 saves last season but also walked 31 and allowed six homers in 56⅓ innings.

“We told him, ‘Hey, we’re not giving up on you. Just want you to be more consistent,'” Francona said. “We need him to help us win.”

The Reds recalled hard-throwing rookie right-hander Luis Mey from Triple-A on Thursday.

With Diaz on the IL, Emilio Pagan assumed the closer role. He’s tied for fourth in the NL with eight saves. His 11 perfect relief outings are the most for a Reds reliever through 15 appearances since John Franco in 1987.

The New York Yankees moved designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton to the 60-day injured list and claimed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz off waivers from the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.

Stanton, 35, has been sidelined all season by tendinitis in both elbows. The five-time All-Star took batting practice with teammates last week for the first time this season, but the team does not have a timetable for Stanton’s return to its lineup.

Stanton is in his eighth season with New York. Last season, he hit 27 homers and drove in 72 runs in 114 games. He was among the club’s top hitters in the postseason, finishing with 15 hits — including seven home runs — and 16 RBIs as the Yankees advanced to the World Series.

The Yankees optioned De La Cruz, 28, to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

De La Cruz batted .191 in 16 games this season for Atlanta. He is a career .251 hitter with 58 homers and 208 RBIs in 491 games with the Miami Marlins (2021-24), Pittsburgh Pirates (2024) and Braves.

The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.