The Milwaukee Brewers will be looking to put a brutal season-opening road sweep behind them when they open their home campaign against the Kansas Royals on Monday.
Left-hander Kris Bubic makes his first start since April 15, 2023, for the Royals, while the Brewers counter with right-hander Elvin Rodriguez, signed as a free agent during the offseason.
The Yankees completed a three-game sweep of Milwaukee with a 12-3 win on Sunday. Brewers pitching was shelled for 36 runs on 34 hits, including 15 homers, over the weekend.
Sal Frelick with five hits in 11 at-bats (.455) is the only Brewers starter above .300 in the early going.
Beginning Monday, the Brewers are home for seven consecutive games. With the rotation short-handed due to injuries, Rodriguez is expected to pitch limited innings.
“I know for the fans at home, it would be great to have (Jose) Quintana or one of our regular rotation guys,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Saturday. “But this is the way it is right now. We’re beat up. We’re hurt. We’ve got to go through it.”
Kansas City lost at home 6-2 to Cleveland on Sunday, dropping two of three in its opening series. None of the Royals’ starting pitchers lasted more than five innings.
Maikel Garcia, with four hits in 10 at-bats and one homer, and Vinnie Pasquantino, with three hits, a homer and three RBIs, are off to the best starts at the plate.
Bubic returns to the rotation after coming back from Tommy John surgery.
“It’s cool now to get back to doing something I was doing before,” Bubic told MLB when it was announced he would again be a starter. “Coming into camp, I just wanted to pitch healthy because it’s been two springs. However it played out, I was going to be good with it. But it’s a pretty cool opportunity, and I just want to take it and run with it.”
Bubic was 3-13 with a 5.58 ERA in 28 appearances, including 27 starts, in 2022. He was limited to three starts with the Royals the following season before the left elbow injury that required surgery.
After a minor league rehab assignment to start the 2024 season, Bubic was activated by the Royals in early July and made 27 relief appearances, going 1-1 with a 2.67 ERA in 30 1/3 innings. He struck out 39 and walked just five.
Bubic was 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 21 2/3 innings in spring training. He allowed one run in five innings with eight strikeouts in his final spring outing.
Bubic has faced the Brewers twice in his career, but not since 2021. He is 0-1 despite not giving up an earned run in 11 1/3 innings vs. Milwaukee.
Rodriguez pitched last season in Japan, where he was 1-1 with one save and a 1.80 ERA in 32 games, with just one start. He also pitched seven games in Japan in 2023.
Rodriguez pitched in seven games with Detroit in 2022, including five starts, going 0-4 with 10.62 ERA. In 2023, he appeared in one game with Tampa Bay. Rodriguez, who turns 27 on Monday, has never faced the Royals.
–Field Level Media
