Kansas City Royals lose 5-2 in Kris Bubic’s bumpy start against the Tampa Bay Rays
Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic gave up four runs for the second consecutive start, but this time he didn’t pitch nearly as deep into the game as he had earlier in the week at Minnesota.
Bubic allowed four runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. He gave up three of his four runs in the second inning, and the Rays’ stingy pitching staff made those runs loom large as the Royals fell 5-2 in the third game of a four-game series in front of an announced 19,800 at Tropicana Field on Saturday.
The Rays, who paid homage to their franchise roots by going by the “Devil Rays” and wearing throwback uniforms for the day, have now won six of their last eight.
“Fastball command. He just couldn’t find it early on, especially driving it in on the right-handers,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Bubic’s outing. “That’s usually been the key to his success, being able to control counts, getting ahead.
“Then he just was kind of on heels at that point. The breaking ball was pretty good, but he had to go to the changeup a little too often because he hadn’t really sped them up or made them really conscious of the fastball.”
The Royals will try to earn a series split in the series finale on Sunday afternoon as they conclude their seven-game road trip.
“It was frustrating,” Bubic said. “I could tell early on that I wasn’t — I don’t want to say not fooling anybody — but at the same time throwing pitches that you feel like are pretty (well) executed pitches. They’re either fouling them off or still putting them in play. Balls finding holes and stuff like that. I probably could’ve gotten in better counts a little bit more.”
The Rays scored three runs in the second inning, a frame that started with three consecutive hits against Bubic. The first, an infield single, came on a high-bouncing ball hammered into the turf that bounded high and seemingly took its time getting to second baseman Michael Massey.
The third, a single by Yu Chang scored the game’s first run and left runners on the corners with no outs.
A wild pitch then allowed the second run to score and allowed Chang to advance to second base. Then Taylor Walls followed with an RBI double to left field that scored Chang and gave the Rays a 3-0 advantage before an out had been recorded in the inning.
Bubic threw 36 pitches to get through the second, and the Royals had reliever Collin Snider, who was recalled prior to the game, warming in the bullpen by the time Bubic recorded the second out of the inning.
“Just keep making pitches,” Bubic said of his mindset in that inning. “To lead off that inning with a 47-mph ball that’s trampolined off the turf, it’s just like okay. You could kind of tell they’re putting up some good at-bats, their approach is pretty good. They’re not really expanding. They’re kind of getting to everything. It’s just like keep making pitches. You’ve just got to trust that some of them turn into outs.”
The Rays increased their lead to 4-0 on Yandy Diaz’s one-out RBI single in the fourth inning. Bubic didn’t make it through that inning before turning the game over to the bullpen.
“Only four hard-hit balls out of 18 in play, so I’ll take my chances on that,” Bubic said. “It’s just I felt like everything that was in the zone was either in play or a foul ball.”
The Rays were aggressive and able to put the ball in play repeatedly against Bubic. They swung and missed just five times in a 76-pitch outing that featured 45 swings by Rays batters.
“It was just kind of one of those outings,” Royals rookie catcher MJ Melendez said. “Obviously, they were swinging the bat today. They came ready. It’s something that we weren’t able to do until later in the game. I think if we did earlier, it’s a different ballgame. But they found a way to get that done early. I think (Bubic) got settled in and he finished off very nicely.”
Melendez (1 for 3, walk, run scored) and fellow rookie Bobby Witt Jr. (1 for 3, double, run scored) each scored runs for the Royals (49-73).
Royals sluggers Salvador Perez (sacrifice fly) and Vinnie Pasquantino (1 for 4, RBI) drove in runs in the loss.
Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen, who took a perfect game into the ninth inning of his previous outing, held the Royals without a hit through the first five innings. He struck out eight and allowed two hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings.
“Three different types of off-speed, he’s got a cutter, slider, curveball, and they’re all pretty different,” Melendez said. “So he was able to keep us off-balance with them. Also, the fastball was playing up today because of that. He was able to locate all of those today, and it made him effective.”
In the sixth inning, the Royals got their first hit and cut their deficit in half thanks to a one-out single by Melendez followed by a Witt double and a Perez sacrifice fly. Pasquantino’s RBI single gave the Royals their second run.
Royals relievers Snider (1 1/3 innings), Jose Cuas (one inning) and Carlos Hernández (two innings, one run) pitched the final 4 1/3 innings.
This story was originally published August 20, 2022 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Kansas City Royals lose 5-2 in Kris Bubic’s bumpy start against the Tampa Bay Rays."
