Kris Bubic loses no-hit bid for Royals on official scoring change but enjoys fantastic homecoming
SAN FRANCISCO — Kris Bubic's no-hit bid for the Kansas City Royals ended with an official scoring change.
The left-hander hardly let that bother him.
Bubic made a run at a historic homecoming before settling for seven shutout innings of two-hit ball in a 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
'I knew it was happening, but I wasn't nervous about it,' Bubic said. 'I wasn't really thinking about it. In my head I was just thinking, hey, keep attacking guys. Keep getting ahead of guys.'
Bubic initially got through six innings without allowing a hit — only to have an error charged to Royals second baseman Michael Massey changed to a single before the start of the seventh.
With two outs in the sixth, Wilmer Flores hit a grounder toward second base. Massey moved to his left and was in position to make the play but slipped to the ground at the edge of the grass as the ball rolled past him into the outfield.
The play initially was ruled an error by official scorer Michael Duca, and Bubic then struck out Jung Hoo Lee to end the inning.
But moments later, after reviewing video, Duca changed his call to a base hit for Flores.
Casey Schmitt's clean double down the left-field line with one out in the seventh was the only other hit off Bubic (5-2). He struck out five, walked three and lowered his ERA to 1.47.
That's the second-lowest mark for a Royals pitcher through his first 10 starts of a season. Zack Greinke was at 0.84 in 2009, when he won the AL Cy Young Award.
Vinnie Pasquantino, who hit a two-run homer off reliever Tyler Rogers (2-2) to break a scoreless tie in the eighth, raved about Bubic.
'Hitters getting to first base, talking about how frustrating it is facing him,' Pasquantino said. 'That's what you're looking for. He was ridiculous again tonight.'
In his past four starts, Bubic has permitted one run over 25 1/3 innings.
This outing came in the ballpark where Bubic grew up rooting for the Giants. He went to Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose and then to college at Stanford.
'I've probably sat in every area in this ballpark,' he said.
The 27-year-old Bubic estimated he had 30-40 family members and friends in attendance.
'You always want to do well in front of them. It makes life a little easier for everybody,' Bubic joked.
He referenced the fact that he had made two previous starts at Oracle Park, including when he pitched six scoreless innings in a 3-1 loss on April 9, 2023. Bubic said that experience kept away the jitters.
'I treated this like any other game,' he explained. 'It's cool to be able to pitch in front of friends and family and I'm glad they got to see a win.'
Bubic underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and was strictly a reliever in 27 appearances last season.
He made one start with a longer no-hit bid: On Aug. 21, 2021, Bubic threw six hitless innings against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
After a weather delay, he allowed a walk and then a home run to Patrick Wisdom. Bubic gave up just that one hit over 6 1/3 innings in the Royals' 4-2 win.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Shane Bieber injury update: Guardians pitcher scratched from Tommy John rehab start
Shane Bieber injury update: Guardians pitcher scratched from Tommy John rehab start Show Caption Hide Caption CC Sabathia on entering the Hall of Fame and wearing a Yankees cap on his plaque CC Sabathia will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame this July and tells USA TODAY Sports why his plaque will feature him wearing a Yankees cap. Sports Seriously Cleveland Guardians right-handed pitcher Shane Bieber was originally scheduled to pitch for the Akron RubberDucks in a rehab assignment, but that won't be happening for the time being. Bieber was at one point slated to pitch in Double-A on Thursday, June 5 as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. That was moved back a day to Friday, June 6. Now, it has been delayed entirely, as Bieber reported soreness following a bullpen session, according to multiple reports out of New York, where the Guardians have been playing the Yankees. Bieber met with team doctors and will meet with Dr. Keith Meister, who performed Bieber's elbow surgery in April of 2024. Bieber, 29, won the 2020 AL Cy Young award but has managed just 70 starts since 2021. Shane Bieber contract This offseason, as he recovered from the procedure, Bieber signed a one-year deal to return to Cleveland that included a player option for the 2026 season. He's thrown only two starts since the beginning of the 2024 season.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Twins' minor-league adventure: Tampa, Sacramento trips marked by ‘difficult' playing conditions
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The risk simply wasn't worth it for Carlos Correa. Recognizing the soreness developing in the middle of his back after two days of slipping and sliding in a rock-hard batter's box at Sutter Health Park, the Twins shortstop elected to sit out the final two contests of a four-game series at the new, temporary home of the Athletics. Advertisement In abandoning Oakland to spend three seasons in the California state capital before they move to a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip, the A's made a controversial decision by voluntarily relocating to a Triple-A stadium they're sharing with a minor-league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. While the refurbished facility's amenities drew rave reviews from every Twins player interviewed by The Athletic, including Correa, several noted a number of 'minor-league' issues with its playing surface. After playing in West Sacramento and at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the temporary home of the Tampa Bay Rays and spring training facility for the New York Yankees, during their recent three-city road trip, the Twins have a fresh perspective on Major League Baseball's minor-league issues as the weather heats up. From Tampa's oppressive heat and humidity to its poor outfield lighting and short foul poles to a batter's box in Sacramento multiple players described as akin to hitting on cement and a rigid pitcher's mound that's drawn the ire of hurlers across the league, the Twins experienced the full range of challenges these parks present in playing seven away games against the Rays and A's since May 26. Correa's experience with the batter's box represents one of the bigger hardships Twins players faced during their minor-league adventure. 'It's the worst box I've ever stepped in,' Correa said. 'I like (the park). The ball travels very well. The facilities are good. They did it right. The plate is the only problem. … I'm not going to sacrifice two months of my season because of a couple of at-bats here.' How the clubhouses at both temporary stadiums are arranged isn't an issue. But the playing conditions are a different story. In Sacramento, the dirt and the disconnected dugouts create difficulties for the home and visiting players. Both teams' clubhouses are located beyond the left-field fence at the ballpark, which means players and trainers are often commuting across the field between innings. Advertisement Athletics pitcher Luis Severino voiced his frustration with his home stadium last month. During a typical start, Severino reportedly likes to retreat to the clubhouse between innings to watch film and move around, something he can't do at Sutter Health Park. This season, Severino, who signed a multi-year contract with the A's in free agency, has a 0.87 road ERA and a 6.99 ERA at home. Before their four-game series began Monday, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli joked about how awkward it would be to get ejected, as he did in Seattle on Saturday night. Noting fans described the potential scenario as a walk of shame, Baldelli suggested he'd be worried about how his stride would look with such a long walk. Still, Baldelli determined if an ejection occurred, he'd make the most of it. 'It's the march of triumph,' he said. The batter's box and mound, which are pored over by the grounds crew daily to handle a combined 156-game schedule for the Athletics and Triple-A River Cats, also have been heavily criticized for their firmness. When he pitched in Sacramento on May 24, Philadelphia Phillies starter Zack Wheeler struggled to dig a hole on the mound in front of the rubber with his foot because of the hard clay used. Wheeler said he couldn't 'get into the dirt to drive' through his pitches, which left him throwing 'all arm.' Wheeler's phrasing stuck with Twins pitcher Joe Ryan, who wondered aloud if a firm mound played a role in the significant injury suffered by teammate Pablo López this week in Sacramento. Coming off a daytime start in which he pitched in 100-degree temperatures in Tampa, López suffered a Grade 2 teres major muscle strain on Tuesday and is expected to miss eight to 12 weeks. Ryan is perplexed by how a teammate as fit and process-oriented as López — 'he spends hours a day (warming up) to go play catch' — could suffer such an injury. Advertisement 'The first thing I thought of was Wheeler saying, 'I was all arm when I was here,'' Ryan said. 'Does that play into that? Someone was mentioning it. We're in the big leagues and we have these amenities for a reason. It's to get prepared and go inside if you need to for a second. Whatever your routine is, you can't do that here. You can't do that in Tampa. As (Lopez's) teammate, it makes it sting a little bit more. I don't think Pablo is the kind of guy that's going to say (the mound was the issue), but I'll say it.' During his May 28 start in Tampa, López called a timeout in the first inning for groundskeepers to fix the mound. Ryan also took issue with the mound in Tampa and said it was much different than the one he warmed up on in the bullpen before his start. 'Tampa was a fricking sh– box and they have a massive mound in the bullpen before,' Ryan said. 'It's a huge contrast.' According to players, the issues in Tampa — which is scheduled to be used by the Rays for only the 2025 season after Hurricane Milton destroyed the roof of Tropicana Field last September and caused massive flood damage — include poor outfield lighting, a short porch in right field and short foul poles. The miniature poles likely cost Aaron Judge a home run in an April 20 game as the ball appeared to incorrectly be ruled foul. Poor lighting seemed to hamper Twins outfielder Trevor Larnach's ability to track fly balls in a May 26 loss to the Rays. 'I could see better at Tampa at the beginning of the game and then at night it was really difficult for me,' Larnach said. '(In a regular park), the lights are bright and you see the ball a tad bit better, whether it be in the outfield, at the plate or whatever.' Lighting doesn't seem to be an issue at Sutter Health Park, which has a berm beyond the fence in right field with trees that offers fans a unique way to catch a major-league game. But the lack of a third deck in both stadiums allows wind to impact the ball in different ways. The ball carries extremely well in Sacramento, which Baseball Savant ranks as tops in the majors — tied with the Baltimore Orioles' Camden Yards — in Park Factor, meaning it is the most hitter-friendly park in baseball. Advertisement Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler hit a three-run homer Monday, a 100.9-mph, 28-degree fly ball, which Ryan and Byron Buxton swore would have been an out at the Twins' home ballpark, Target Field. However, Buxton also benefitted at the plate as the wind turned what likely would have been an out into a two-run double. By comparison, Steinbrenner Field currently is playing as a neutral venue, according to Baseball Savant's Park Factor. 'Big-league stadiums, you don't have the ball dancing like these balls are moving here,' Buxton said of Sacramento. 'My double, fly out, wind takes it, almost takes it out and it's like, 'What?' … (Butler's) ball, I'm (normally) catching at the warning track.' Players described the wind in Tampa as swirling and unpredictable. Twins outfielder Willi Castro raced toward the left-field foul line during a May 27 game, only for the wind to spin the ball back into play — well out of his grasp — for a double. Even the view of left field from the visiting dugout in Tampa is deceiving. From his perch atop the dugout, Baldelli couldn't see any plays that occurred in left field. The park's configuration is such that the visiting dugout juts out into the field of play with the left-field foul pole situated about 15 feet behind where Baldelli stands. 'Every ball that's hit down the left-field line, we think it's foul by like 100 feet,' Baldelli said. 'It looks like it's foul off the bat, like the hitters not even hitting it, and it's getting blown up, and they're fair.' Both parks are expected to heat up like a microwave as summer arrives. The heat issues in Tampa are concerning enough that MLB scheduled the Rays away from home for a 10-game road trip in July and a 12-gamer to the West Coast in August. Despite pitching at night in Tampa on May 27, Twins starter Chris Paddack went through four baseball caps and jerseys as well as multiple undershirts. For the teams' May 28 day game, the temperature was sweltering as Twins players scrambled for minimal shade in the visiting dugout. Advertisement 'I was sweating a ton right after (batting practice),' Twins infielder Royce Lewis said. 'Sweating through batting gloves and stuff. The heat for some guys definitely played a part. To stand out in the sun for hours is depleting.' Still, it's not all bad. Although the layout of the visitors locker room, weight room and cafeteria at Steinbrenner Field is unlike almost any other ballpark in the majors, the two batting cages for visiting teams were lauded by nearly every Twins hitter. Staffers also noted there was ample space to perform their different activities. 'We're finding our bearings,' Baldelli said. 'We're finding meeting rooms and weight rooms. It's not set up where it's all in one space, like guys are typically used to, but it's nothing that we can't get familiar with and figure out.' Similarly, players raved about the behind-the-scenes setup at Sutter Health Park. Multi-million dollar offseason upgrades at the stadium included a renovated visiting clubhouse, a revamped scoreboard and a new playing surface. Though MLB originally wanted the Athletics and River Cats to play on synthetic turf, a decision was made to use real grass. Buxton described the outfield grass as playing faster than the grass at most parks, while Baldelli described the turf as squishy. Stadium officials plan to re-sod the playing surface during the middle of July to help combat dead spots during a stretch where temperatures are expected to soar above 100 degrees. As much as each stadium has its drawbacks, nothing compares to Sacramento's hard dirt, several Twins hitters said. Throughout their four-game series, Twins hitters could be seen slipping in the batter's box when swinging at pitches. Correa slipped during his first at-bat Monday (a double) and tried to improve his footing by changing into catcher Ryan Jeffers' metal spikes. After dealing with plantar fasciitis in each foot over the past two seasons, Correa ditched metal spikes in favor of moldings, comfortable shoes that don't grip the ground as well. But he quickly rid himself of Jeffers' spikes because they began to hurt his feet. Advertisement Over the next two days, Correa's back began to hurt. He experienced back issues earlier in his career and could tell the new soreness was in a different location. He believed it was related to slipping in the batter's box and overcompensating with his back. To test and confirm his hypothesis, Correa hit on flat ground in the indoor batting cages and felt fine each time. At that point, Correa determined he would sit out the final two games of the series rather than risk a severe back injury. 'The plate here is killing me right now,' Correa said. 'It's very slippery. … For us that play with moldings, it's a tough time getting grip on the plate, but it's better than your feet hurting.' (Top photo of Twins reliever Jonah Bride pitching at Sutter Health Park: Scott Marshall / Associated Press)
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Royals at White Sox prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for June 6
Its Friday, June 6 and the Royals (33-30) are in Chicago to take on the White Sox (20-43). Seth Lugo is slated to take the mound for Kansas City against Davis Martin for Chicago. The White Sox welcome the Royals into town following a split of a four-game series against the AL Central-leading Tigers. Tim Elko drove in the game-winner in the tenth inning in a 3-2 win for the ChiSox yesterday. The Royals come to town having taken two of three from the Cardinals in St. Louis. Maikel Garcia went 2-3 and drove in a pair of runs to pace the attack for KC in a 7-5 win last night. Advertisement Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts. Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long. Game details & how to watch Royals at White Sox Date: Friday, June 6, 2025 Time: 7:40PM EST Site: Rate Field City: Chicago, IL Network/Streaming: FDSNKC, CHSN Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out. Odds for the Royals at the White Sox The latest odds as of Friday: Advertisement Moneyline: Royals (-176), White Sox (+147) Spread: Royals -1.5 Total: 8.0 runs Probable starting pitchers for Royals at White Sox Pitching matchup for June 6, 2025: Seth Lugo vs. Davis Martin Royals: Seth Lugo (3-5, 3.45 ERA) Last outing: 5/30 vs. Detroit - 3.1IP, 4ER, 5H, 2BB, 3Ks White Sox: Davis Martin (2-6, 3.67 ERA) Last outing: 5/31 at Baltimore - 6IP, 4ER, 5H, 1BB, 3Ks Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type! Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Royals at White Sox The Royals have won 4 of their last 5 road games against teams with losing records The Over is 4-1 in the White Sox's last 5 games against AL Central teams The White Sox are showing a profit of 2.39 units on the Run Line in their last 5 games at Rate Field Bobby Witt Jr. has at least one hit in four straight games (5-16) Seth Lugo has averaged 4 Ks per start over his last 4 starts If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports! Expert picks & predictions for tonight's game between the Royals and the White Sox Rotoworld Best Bet Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700. Advertisement Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts. Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager. Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday's game between the Royals and the White Sox: Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Kansas City Royals on the Moneyline. Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Chicago White Sox at +1.5. Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 8.0. Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC Advertisement Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
