Kris

Bubic

Bubic experienced elbow soreness on May 18th and landed on the injured list. Since he hasn’t missed an extended period of time, he may need to make one or two rehab appearances before rejoining the Royals’ rotation. The 28-year-old has a 4.11 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 51/26 K/BB ratio in 50 1/3 innings this season.

Bubic resumed throwing earlier this week, but is still dealing with some generic arm discomfort. There’s a chance the Royals back off a little bit with his ramp-up process in the coming days. The 28-year-old southpaw hit the shelf with elbow soreness back on May 18. There is no timetable for his return.

It sounds like a precautionary decision by Kansas City after Bubic told reporters he experienced more soreness than usual following his last start against the White Sox where he allowed five runs over four innings. The 28-year-old lefty will undergo further evaluation, and likely imaging, to determine whether he’s dealing with anything from a structural standpoint. At a minimum, he’ll wind up missing at least a couple weeks.

The 28-year-old left-hander also walked three batters in the contest while striking out four. Randal Grichuk did most of the damage against him, smacking a two-run homer in the opening inning and adding a two-run single in the third. Bubic got six swings and misses on 84 pitches on the night, registering a miserable CSW of only 18 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he lugs a 4.11 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and a 51/26 K/BB ratio (50 1/3 innings) into Tuesday’s tilt against the Red Sox.

Things could have gone much worse for Bubic in this one, as he struggled to keep the ball in the strike zone, but managed to hold the Tigers to just one run through the first five innings before they finally got to him in the sixth inning. With two outs and a runner on first in the top of the sixth inning, Bubic gave up an RBI double to Wenceel Pérez to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead, and was responsible for Pérez coming around to score on the following at-bat after he was pulled for reliever Nick Mears. Bubic has walked three or more batters in six of his eight starts, but has been able to limit runs despite putting runners on. His next start is scheduled for Thursday on the road against the White Sox.

Bubic struck out seven while allowing one or no runs for the fourth time in seven starts this season. He’s 3-1 with a 3.32 ERA ahead of a date with the Tigers next weekend.

Bubic got out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout to end the first inning, then gave up one run on two hits in the second. He settled in for three more scoreless innings before allowing the leadoff man on in the sixth. That would end his day at 96 pitches. Bubic generated 14 whiffs to strike out six. The 28-year-old left-hander will take a 3.74 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 35/17 K/BB ratio across 33 2/3 innings into a start against the Mariners in Seattle on Sunday.

In the second inning, Coby Mayo unloaded on a middle-middle fastball from Bubic and parked it deep in the left field seats for a three-run homer. After that, Bubic faced just two batters over the minimum as he cruised through the sixth inning. He didn’t miss many bats, but didn’t give up many hard-hit balls either. He wound up with a quality start and his lineup came back to take him off the hook. He’s scheduled to face the Athletics and Mariners on the road in what should be a two-start week coming up.

Bubic also issued three free passes on the day while striking out three. The Tigers scratched out single runs against him in the second and fourth innings, then piled on with three more in the fifth while chasing the 28-year-old southpaw from the ballgame. Bubic generated six swings and misses on 82 pitches in the contest, posting an underwhelming CSW of 23 percent. Even with this rough outing, Bubic still sports a respectable 3.97 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and a 26/10 K/BB ratio over 22 2/3 innings through his first four starts. He’ll try to put this one behind him and get back on track as he does battle against the Orioles at home on Tuesday.

Bubic allowed just two hits and one walk in the ballgame. He carried a no-hit bid into the fifth inning until Lenyn Sosa smacked a leadoff double, but Bubic rallied and stranded him right there. He generated 17 swings and misses on 88 pitches on the evening — seven of those on his fastball — while posting a strong CSW of 34 percent. He’ll attempt to keep the good times rolling as he carries a 2.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and a 23/7 K/BB ratio (18 innings) into Thursday’s showdown against the Tigers in Motown.