Kris Bubic struck out a career-high 11 in his win over the White Sox last night.
“I think being able to locate those in zone and get chase on them when you get ahead in counts (was key),” Bubic said.
“I think to be able to do both of those successfully was huge tonight. “I’m not a guy that’s pumping upper 90s or something like that. But that enabled me to get through those middle innings and get some quick outs there.”
Bubic had the breaking ball going last night, writes Anne Rogers
Case in point: Bubic
struck out White Sox leadoff hitter Chase Meidroth three times Friday night. The first came on a sweeper – that Perez correctly challenged as a strike – and the next two on sliders.
“The spin can play to both righties and lefties,” Bubic said. “… Just pairing both of those spin to righties with the sweeper early, being able to steal strikes with that, and then finishing with a fastball up or a gyro slider down below. The pairing was really good there, and the mix was really good.”
Craig Brown laments the offense, but pleads for patience.
All I can do at this moment is remind you that we aren’t even 10 percent of the way into the season. Andy Pages has a .438 on base percentage. Aaron Judge has a .488 slugging percentage. These things are going to change a great deal between now and the end of the season. The Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox each have just four wins. They are better than this.
The Royals are supposed to be better than what we’ve seen this week.
The angst is understandable. Scars run deep and we’ve seen plenty to scare a normal person completely off baseball. Some of the action we’ve seen this year—again, especially this week—has been dull and uninspired. Yet the season is young. The story is still being written. That’s why I’m here; that’s why I chronicle this team. I want to see how it ends.
Jesse Borek at MLB.com writes about Kendry Chourio retiring all 14 hitters he faced this week.
Just two balls even left the infield against Chourio, both coming as flyouts in the second. Despite throwing a first-pitch strike to just six batters, the Royals’ No. 3 prospect finished with a 64.4 percent strike rate (38 of 59). Righty Jhon Reyes and lefty Jordan Woods combined to finish off the shutout, allowing a lone single as a blemish on their marks.
It marks Chourio’s second career start in which he retired every batter he faced, coincidentally having done so against Myrtle Beach on Aug. 14, 2025. Only four members of the Pelicans’ lineup were the same this go-round, with a whole new batch finding out the hard way what Carolina League batters have learned in short order: Chourio’s stuff is legit.
Andrew Apostolakis at Royals Keep has more on Chourio.
Chourio’s delivery is simple and repeatable, his lean frame athletic and increasingly strong. He commands the strike zone with a poise and confidence that belies his youth. That command, combined with his velocity and movement, gives him a profile that could project as a frontline starter if he continues on this trajectory. Advanced metrics show that Chourio’s season pitching percentiles include below-average wOBA (40th percentile), strikeout rate (55th percentile), whiff rate (31st percentile), CSW percent (40th percentile), swing percent (26th percentile), and SwStr percent (42nd percentile) per FanGraphs. However, he posted a strong ground-ball rate in the 80th percentile and an excellent walk rate in the 74th percentile, at just 7.1 percent, highlighting his ability to control the strike zone and keep hitters on the ground.
Pete Grathoff covers the mixed reaction from fans over the new City Connect jerseys.
Athletics slugger Brent Rooker lands on the Injured List.
The Cubs get Seiya Suzuki back.
The Tigers lose outfielder Parker Meadows to an arm fracture.
How long-term extensions have become commonplace for top prospects.
Nick Gonzales tries to retract his ABS challenge, but he wins it anyway.
How Ben Rice went from starring in the Ivy League to Yankee Stadium.
The average MLB salary rises to $5.34 million with the Mets topping all payrolls.
The White Sox expand plans for pope-themed hat giveaways.
Which teams should be panicking?
The Rockies add new minority owners, a group that owns a stake in the Broncos.
A Seattle of statue of Ichiro Suzuki breaks at its unveiling.
The percentage of black players in MLB is on the rise.
The WNBA officially approves expansion to Detroit, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.
Robert MacIntyre could face disciplinary action after an angry gesture at the Masters.
A study shows that a two-week break from your phone may reverse years of brain damage.
NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts deeper into space than any human beings have gone before.
Why you may still need your landline.
Your song of the day is The Doors with Cars Hiss by My Window.
