MILWAUKEE -- The last time Kris Bubic made a big league start, it was April 15, 2023, on a cold and rainy day at Kauffman Stadium. A few days later, his season was over before it ever really got started as he prepared to have Tommy John surgery.
Nearly two years have passed since then. Bubic went through the full ulnar collateral ligament reconstructive surgery on his left elbow and the long rehab that comes with it, he fought his way back to the Majors as a reliever in 2024 and helped the Royals in a playoff race and the postseason, and he won a rotation job out of camp this spring.
That all led him to Monday afternoon in Milwaukee. Bubic made his first start back in the Royals rotation, and he announced his return with authority: Six scoreless innings with just three hits allowed, two walks, one hit batter and eight strikeouts.
The dominant start from Bubic and an onslaught of offense from the Royals¡¯ lineup added up to an 11-1 series-opening rout over the Brewers at American Family Field.
¡°We knew coming into the season that [Bubic is] a pretty darn good guy pitching the fourth day of the season for us,¡± manager Matt Quatraro said. ¡°We were really confident with him, very comfortable and happy for him, too.¡±
The Royals couldn¡¯t have asked for a better start from Bubic, both for what it meant to him and the team. After a frustrating weekend that saw the top three Royals starters struggle with command and walk nine batters across 14 innings, Bubic tossed the first quality start of the season. He was at 83 pitches after five innings, but Quatraro let him go out for the sixth with reliever Angel Zerpa ready in case of trouble.
Bubic didn¡¯t need the help. He retired the middle of the Brewers lineup in order and ended his day at 95 pitches.
¡°Even throwing 90-plus pitches again -- it¡¯s been a minute,¡± Bubic said. ¡°It¡¯s cool. But I think where I¡¯ve matured a little bit is not making it bigger than it is. There¡¯s no more [being] starstruck. I think now it¡¯s just, ¡®This is it, here it is, go get outs.¡¯¡±
It¡¯s true that Bubic has grown a lot from who he was a few years ago. He made wholesale changes to his arsenal entering the ¡®23 season and saw success before his injury. The tinkering continued during his rehab process.
And it showed up Monday. Bubic kept the Brewers guessing all day, recording 15 whiffs and 18 called strikes for a 35% called strike/whiff percentage. Eleven of those whiffs came on Bubic¡¯s four-seam fastball, which tied his career best (three times, last on Oct. 1, 2022).
¡°His fastball was really good,¡± catcher Salvador Perez said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if they were looking for soft, but I don¡¯t think they made an adjustment to the fastball. So we kept throwing it.¡±
Of Bubic¡¯s three hits allowed, only one of them got out of the infield. The Brewers only recorded one hard-hit ball (95+ mph) against Bubic on Monday. He relied on his sweeper and slider to help the fastball, too.
¡°I¡¯m trying to throw like middle-up sweepers so guys almost get under it and get weak contact,¡± Bubic said. ¡°I think we just did a good job of getting ahead of guys and keeping them on their toes.¡±
Bubic is trying to bring his reliever mentality into starts this year, pounding the zone and not ¡°wasting pitches,¡± he said.
Instead of thinking about how deep in the game he needed to pitch Monday, he was thinking one inning at a time.
¡°Now it¡¯s, ¡®OK, I¡¯m a reliever for one inning. The next inning, I¡¯m a reliever for one inning,¡¯¡± Bubic explained. ¡°It allows me to focus on the present a little more instead of looking ahead, ¡®Hey, we¡¯ve got to get this number of innings and pitches today,¡¯ which in reality, it¡¯s just a byproduct of what you do early in the game.¡±
Of course, pitching with a lead helps that mindset. The Royals got contributions up and down the lineup Monday, from leadoff hitter Jonathan India¡¯s three hits to No. 9 hitter Maikel Garcia¡¯s second home run of the season. Perez added his first homer of the season as part of a six-run seventh inning.
By then they were just pouring on; the offense had given Bubic a three-run lead before he even jogged to the mound in the first inning Monday.
Bubic followed by striking out the side in the top of the first inning, all swinging.
Welcome back, indeed.