Bubic, Royals Trying to Take Game One From Yankees
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After a series win against the Chicago White Sox, the Kansas City Royals are looking to keep the good times rolling.
It was a promising set for Kansas City while in Chicago, as the club's bats finally began to come alive and a trio of high-quality starts came around as well. As a result, the Royals took two of three games against their American League Central rivals. Unfortunately, the wins also came with shortstop Adalberto Mondesi suffering an ACL tear in his left knee. The team is taking the good with the bad as it hosts a series back at home.
Apr 28, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brad Keller (56) delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
On Friday, the Royals are back at Kauffman Stadium for a three-game series against the New York Yankees. Pitching probables for Saturday's outing are Carlos Hernandez for the Royals and Gerrit Cole for the Yankees. On Sunday, it's projected to be Daniel Lynch squaring off against Luis Severino. New York is one of the better teams in the league, so this series will undoubtedly test the Royals' ability to perform at a high level against premier opponents.
Here's how the Royals will line up in this evening's game:
Starting Pitchers
Kansas City: LHP Kris Bubic (0-1, 14.14 ERA)
New York: LHP Nester Cortes (0-0, 1.15 ERA)
Kansas City Royals Starting Lineup
- Nicky Lopez (L) - SS
- Whit Merrifield (R) - 2B
- Andrew Benintendi (L) - LF
- Salvador Perez (R) - C
- Carlos Santana (S) - 1B
- Hunter Dozier (R) - DH
- Bobby Witt Jr. (R) - 3B
- Edward Olivares (R) - RF
- Michael A. Taylor (R) - CF
Kansas City Royals hanging around in AL Central standings
Apr 12, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny (22) looks on from the dugout before a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Despite having a measly 7-10 record this far, the Royals are sole owners of second place in the AL Central heading into Friday's play. Behind them are the White Sox, Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers, although just 1.5 games separate all four squads. Kansas City, 5-5 at home and 2-5 on the road, has a -19 run differential and trails the 11-8 Minnesota Twins by a full three games. It's still early in the season and one bad week can send the Royals shooting back down the leaderboard but considering how slow of a start they've had, their current standing can't be viewed as anything other than fortunate.
Kris Bubic eyeing productive start
Apr 10, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic (50) gets relieved by Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny (22) during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
It's been a tough season for one Kris Bubic, who posted a 4.43 ERA in 130 innings pitched in 2021 and a 4.32 ERA in 50 innings the year prior. He's shown the ability to have one of the higher floors among all Royals starters, but his 2022 season has been anything but reliable or consistent to this point. Across three starts, Bubic has lasted just seven innings and has surrendered 12 hits and 11 runs. He's also issued nine walks to just five strikeouts. Kansas City's young lefty will look for his best start of the season on Friday and while that may not be saying a ton, it would possibly get him back on track.
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