Bubic, Royals Look for Series Win Against Guardians

The Kansas City Royals are 2-0 on the season, and both of their wins have featured terrific pitching performances and late-game heroics at the plate. On Saturday, the team walked off on the Cleveland Guardians to cap off quite the afternoon.

Starting pitcher Brad Keller tossed six innings of shutout baseball for the Royals, allowing just two hits and a single walk. The club's No. 2 starter was on top of his game against Cleveland, also striking out five hitters in the process. An Adalberto Mondesi hit drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, securing a 1-0 victory for the home team. It was a gritty effort on Kansas City's behalf, making it back-to-back games of that variety.

On Sunday, both teams will play in game three of a four-game slate. If the Royals lose both remaining contests before heading to St. Louis, they'll walk away from Kauffman Stadium a .500 team with a split of their season-opening series. A win on Sunday ensures a clear win of the Guardians series, as well as an opportunity for a sweep on Monday.

Here's how the Royals will line up in this afternoon's game:

Starting Pitchers

Kansas City: LHP Kris Bubic (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Cleveland: RHP Cal Quantrill (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Kansas City Royals Starting Lineup

Whit Merrifield (R) - RF
Bobby Witt Jr. (R) - 3B
Andrew Benintendi (L) - LF
Salvador Perez (R) - C
Carlos Santana (S) - DH
Hunter Dozier (R) - 1B
Adalberto Mondesi (S) - SS
Michael A. Taylor (R) - CF
Nicky Lopez (L) - 2B

Kris Bubic makes first start of 2022 season

It caught many by surprise when lefty Kris Bubic was named the club's third starter of the season, as the trio of Carlos Hernandez, Daniel Lynch and Brady Singer seemed to have solidified spots in the rotation. With Singer in the bullpen and both Hernandez and Lynch behind him, though, Bubic is tasked with sending a statement to manager Mike Matheny and his staff that their decision was justified.

Bubic showed plenty of promise last season, posting a 4.43 ERA across 130 innings of work. He found his way into the starting rotation after coming out of the bullpen earlier on, and his final month of the year was remarkable. In 32-2/3 innings, the 24-year-old had a 2.20 ERA and opponents hit just .193 off him. He allowed just one run in a tidy five-inning stretch this spring and is even adding a slider to his arsenal, so there's plenty to like about Bubic's recent performance and improvements. Against the Guardians, he'll have the chance to parlay that into regular-season success.

Royals looking for consistency from starting lineup

While the Royals may be undefeated on the year, their bats have been rather quiet thus far. Aside from Andrew Benintendi and Nicky Lopez, no single hitter is posting a batting average above .300. Hunter Dozier comes the closest at .286, and there are five Royals whose two-game slates have been lackluster from a consistency standpoint. Mondesi is hitting .186 and both Whit Merrifield and Bobby Witt Jr. are hitting .125. Salvador Perez, Carlos Santana and Michael A. Taylor are hitless.

Some strugglers have found other ways to get on base and/or keep the line moving, but more hits are never a bad thing. A two-game sample size is minuscule relative to a full season, so all of the aforementioned numbers will change drastically over the course of the year. With that said, getting off to a good start can help hitters settle into good rhythms that oftentimes propel them to hot streaks. The Royals haven't established that yet, but they'll get another shot to do so on Sunday.

Follow Along

First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. CST
TV: Bally Sports Kansas City
Radio: KCSP 610 AM