SAN FRANCISCO, CA ā Kansas City Royals pitcher Kris Bubic delivered a masterful performance Monday night, tossing seven scoreless innings and flirting with a no-hitter, as the Royals defeated the San Francisco Giants 3-1. Vinnie Pasquantino broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning with a two-run home run that ultimately proved to be the difference.
Bubic, a Bay Area native who attended Mitty High School and Stanford, was in sensational form, carrying a no-hit bid into the sixth inning. With two outs, Wilmer Flores hit a grounder to second base. Michael Massey initially was charged with an error after the ball eluded him, but the official scorer later changed the ruling to a single, ending Bubic’s bid for history. The only other hit Bubic (5-2) allowed was a clean double by Casey Schmitt in the seventh. Bubicās ERA impressively dropped to 1.47 on the season after striking out five and walking three.
Giants left-hander Robbie Ray was equally impressive through seven innings, also holding the Royals scoreless. Ray, who lowered his ERA to 2.67, surrendered six hits, struck out seven, and walked one.
The stalemate was finally broken in the top of the eighth. After Jonathan India doubled with one out off reliever Tyler Rogers (2-2), Pasquantino launched a two-out, two-run blast over the right-field wall, his eighth home run of the season, giving the Royals a crucial 2-0 lead.
The Giants responded in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI double by Jung Hoo Lee, but the Royals added an insurance run in the ninth when Kyle Isbel singled home a run off Jordan Hicks. Carlos EstƩvez then closed out the game for his 14th save of the season.
The Giants had a prime opportunity to score in the seventh after Schmittās double, putting runners on second and third with one out. However, a soft liner from Tyler Fitzgerald to shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. resulted in an inning-ending double play when Witt Jr. flipped the ball to Maikel Garcia at third, doubling off Willy Adames.
The loss snapped the Giantsā impressive streak of nine consecutive wins in Robbie Rayās starts this season.
Looking ahead, the Royals will send right-hander Michael Lorenzen (3-4, 3.76 ERA) to the mound for Tuesday night’s game. He will face Giants right-hander Hayden Birdsong (1-0, 2.31). Pregame coverage on Superstar Country 102.5 FM KQNK will begin at 8:00 p.m. CDT, with first pitch from Oracle Park in San Francisco scheduled for 8:45 p.m. CDT.
