Bubic's plus-pitch mix baffles O's as Royals earn first series win?

KANSAS CITY -- As Kris Bubic departed the mound in the seventh inning, his mind was still on the overcooked slider he had thrown earlier that inning for a wild pitch and a run scored. Always in pursuit of perfection, Bubic might have been more focused on that one bad outcome than the many other pitches that went right on Sunday afternoon.

But the lefty did notice the huge ovation from the crowd at Kauffman Stadium, celebrating his dominant outing that led the Royals to a 4-1 win over the Orioles and their first series win of the season.

Out in the bullpen last year, Bubic had seen the crowd celebrate the rotation so many times in 2024.

Not only is Bubic back and a part of that group in ‘25 -- he’s been the unit’s best starter almost two times through the order so far.

“Watching these starters last year, watching these guys work quality starts, pitching deep into games, that’s how you create a good environment, how you create a good team,” Bubic said. “Because it saves our bullpen and allows us to use those leverage guys in these close games.”

That’s what Bubic did against the O’s, throwing his second consecutive quality start with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball. Through two starts in 2025, Bubic has allowed one run in 12 2/3 innings, struck out 16 and walked three. He’s the first Royal to win each of his first two starts of a season since Danny Duffy in ‘21.

“He’s got deception, he’s got carry, he’s got multiple-plus pitches,” manager Matt Quatraro said of Bubic. “He’s throwing the ball with a lot of confidence right now.”

Bubic brought his best on the mound and Kansas City’s bats brought it at the plate; combined with a couple of standout defensive plays early, including Bobby Witt Jr.’s diving stop up the middle in the first and first baseman Salvador Perez’s catch in the second, Sunday might have been the Royals’ best team win so far this year.

The Royals started fast with three runs against O’s starter Cade Povich, and Witt was on cycle watch with three hits in three at-bats. The shortstop tripled in the first when the ball dropped past center fielder Jorge Mateo, doubled to left field in the second inning and singled to right field in the fourth. Needing a home run to complete the cycle -- which would have been Kansas City’s first since George Brett’s feat on July 25, 1990 -- Witt struck out looking at a sweeper from reliever Seranthony Dominguez.

Despite knocking 13 hits on Sunday, the Royals still left seven on base and went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position. That didn’t matter much, though, with Bubic on the mound.

“Bubic really set the tone early,” second baseman Michael Massey said.

Bubic knew his changeup would come into play because the Orioles stacked eight right-handers into their lineup (including switch-hitting Adley Rutschman hitting from the right side), but it was moving the way he wanted it to early, and he stuck with it.

The Orioles swung 11 times on the changeup -- eight of those were whiffs. Bubic’s fastball, while a tick lower in velocity, still had the deception it showed in his first start, and he recorded nine called strikes on that pitch.

Bubic has always had a good changeup, but it has way more depth to it now that he’s spiking his finger on it. That’s why so many Orioles were swinging through changeups way below the zone.

“Especially a strike-to-ball changeup when it stays in the zone awhile and dips down late, that’s going to be an important pairing going forward,” Bubic said. “I can still get more out of both sliders. But just to have multiple weapons is nice.”

The lone run Baltimore scored didn’t come until the seventh when Ryan Mountcastle led off with a triple on a ball Hunter Renfroe misplayed in right field. Bubic’s wild pitch allowed Mountcastle to score, but Bubic still struck out the next two batters before Hunter Harvey entered and struck out Ramón Urías to end the frame.

Lucas Erceg and Carlos Estévez closed out the game in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to end the weekend on a positive note -- especially with a big American League Central week ahead against the Twins and Guardians.

“It’s nice to get off to a good start, but I think it’s even better when you get a series win today,” Bubic said. “Kind of sets the tone for this week, too, when we got two division opponents coming up.”