HOUSTON -- Kris Bubic has more than made the transition back to starting pitcher. He’s now taking on the look of a bona fide ace.
The Royals came out on the tough end of a pitchers’ duel Tuesday night at Daikin Park -- bowing to the Astros, 2-1, when Isaac Paredes led off the Houston ninth with a home run off John Schreiber -- but Bubic was stellar again, matching a career high with nine strikeouts and rueing just one pitch to Jeremy Peña resulting in a game-tying home run.
Mixing his fastball and changeup masterfully against a completely right-handed Astros lineup, Bubic completed eight of his strikeouts with whiffs. Out of 93 total pitches, he got 22 swings and misses among 66 strikes.
“It’s probably the best overall stuff I’ve had all year,” Bubic said. “I think just the combination of the fastball-changeup and just kind of seeing how they’re playing in the zone and below the zone with the changeup … it’s always gonna be a key for me, especially with so many righties. I want to build off that and keep it going.”
On the heels of Tommy John surgery in 2023, Bubic made all 27 of his Major League appearances in relief in 2024. But after nine starts this year, his ERA stands at 1.66, ranking fifth in the Majors.
“He’s spoiled us,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He’s thrown the ball exceptionally well all year. I don’t know if [Tuesday night] is the best. It’s certainly among the best outings he’s had.”
Bubic, who allowed six hits and one walk in his 6 1/3 innings, blanked the Astros through the fifth, extending his streak of scoreless innings to 17.
But leading off the Houston sixth, Peña got hold of an 0-2 fastball that veered to the inside of the plate and sent it to Daikin Park’s train tracks well beyond the left-field wall.
“The location itself wasn’t horrible,” Bubic said. “It just wasn’t where we intended the pitch to be. But third time through, you tip your cap to a good hitter.”
Despite getting just one run of support, Bubic said he enjoyed being involved in a duel with Framber Valdez, who went eight innings for the Astros.
“It’s fun,” Bubic said. “When you’re in a rhythm, you want to keep going, keep moving and get out there as quick as possible. The game was moving pretty fast. It’s unfortunate giving up the homer there to Peña, but he put a good swing on the ball on an 0-2 count.”
Bubic averaged 93.4 mph on his four-seam fastball, topping out at 95.3. He came into the game averaging 92.2 mph on the pitch.
“In my mind, I feel like I always have it in the tank if I need it,” Bubic said. “Just to see how the fastball’s playing -- whether it’s at 92 or 95 -- to me, the hitter’s swings will dictate how it’s playing, regardless of the velo. Sure, it’s nice having a little more margin for error when you can throw harder, but at the end of the day, it’s just more about locating that pitch well, being in the zone with it early, protecting it with the offspeed pitches, as well.”
As for getting off to a start that suggests he could be in for a career year, Bubic said it’s all about getting ahead in the count.
“Guys won’t chase as much when they’re ahead in the count, so for me, just getting strike one, strike two as quickly as possible [is key],” he said. “And I’ve got a couple different options now that I can go to versus the righty, versus the lefty that we feel good about to get a swing and miss or weak contact. So I think it’s just constantly staying on the attack and getting good counts.”
Bubic also likes working with Freddy Fermin, who caught him for the fifth time this season on Tuesday. Besides driving in the Royals’ only run with a fifth-inning single, Fermin ended the Houston fourth by nabbing Jake Meyers on an attempted steal of second base.
“In 2019, my first full season in the Minors, we were in Lexington, Ky., together to start the year, so that relationship kind of started there, and we’ve been pretty close ever since,” Bubic said. “I’ve thrown a lot of innings to him over the years, so it’s been fun. He’s great back there, calls a great game, receives really well, and throws runners out really well, too.”