Gamethread LII: Royals at Brewers

Kris Bubic has pitched pretty well for the Royals, this year, all things considered. The young left-hander has only had one truly bad start and his last time out he managed to earn his first big league win. But what Bubic hasn’t done is have any truly good starts either. His best start, going by Game Score v2 on FanGraphs, was his second when he went six innings striking out six and allowing two earned runs which earned him a 66 on that scale. Danny Duffy, Brady Singer, and Brad Keller have all had outings superior to that one. It’s not that Bubic has to have a better start for any particular reason. It would just be nice for us as fans and for him as a confidence booster as the season comes to a close. And, if he’s going to do it, tonight, against one of the worst hitting teams in baseball, would be a good night to do it.

The Royals hitters will face off against righty Corbin Burnes. Burnes has been pressed into starting duties this year after mostly relieving for the first two years of his career. He’s taken to it very well. Two starts ago, against Detroit, he pitched seven shutout innings with eleven strikouts, no walks, and only a single hit allowed. He didn’t last as long in his most recent outing but strikeouts are definitely not hard for him to come by as he has earned 74 in only 50 innings pitched, this year. He’s walked his fair share but it’s incredibly difficult to get a hit off of him - and he’s only allowed 27 - and he has given up only a single home run all season. The Royals hitters will definitely have their hands full in this one.

Lineups