KC Royals beat Orioles for 1st series victory. Takeaways with Twins on deck next
The Kansas City Royals took care of business to begin their seven-game homestand at Kauffman Stadium.
KC welcomed the Baltimore Orioles to town over the weekend in a rematch of the clubs’ American League Wild Card series from last October. Both teams looked stagnant to open the 2025 season; perhaps a renewal of their recent postseason rivalry would be just the spot for a rebound.
For the Royals, it was: They clinched their first series victory of the season with a 4-1 win in Sunday’s finale. Left-handed starting pitcher Kris Bubic shut down the Orioles at the plate while Bobby Witt Jr. nearly made history again.
“You know, we are only nine games into the season and it’s only been two starts for me,” Bubic said. “So I’m not trying to look too far ahead.
“And it’s nice to get off to a good start, but I think it’s even better when you get a series win today. It kind of sets the tone for this week too when we’ve got two divisional opponents coming up.”
Witt finished a home run shy of the cycle Sunday. He recorded a triple in the first inning, a double in the second and a single in the fourth.
“You don’t really try to think about it too much,” Witt said of knowing he was close to hitting for the cycle. “I felt like maybe I did a little bit.”
The last Royals player to hit for the cycle is George Brett in 1990.
“You’ve got to go in there and enjoy the moment,” Witt said, “and if it happens, it happens.”
The Royals took two of three games from Baltimore, with their lone loss coming Saturday. KC held the visiting club to just five hits Sunday, improving to 4-5 with a series against the Minnesota Twins scheduled to begin at The K on Monday night.
Here are three takeaways from the Royals-O’s series:
Kris Bubic stars in starter’s role
The Royals always knew Bubic had the intangibles to become a big-league starting pitcher. All signs pointed to the Stanford product enjoying a long run as a central figure in their rotation.
Bubic accelerated quickly through KC’s minor-league system. In 2020, he jumped from Single-A Lexington to the majors. There were expected growing pains along the way as he developed at the highest level of baseball.
Two years later, Bubic seemed to have figured it out. He was off to a strong start to the 2023 campaign before undergoing Tommy John surgery.
He missed significant time in recovery and returned as a reliever last season.
The Royals were impressed with his progress. He earned a spot as a full-time starter in the rotation coming out of spring training.
“We know we have good starting pitching and good for Kris,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “To come out of the gate like this, he has really helped us immensely to get two of the wins we gotten. We feel really confident in him regardless of where he is slotted in there and he has lived up to that so far.”
On Sunday, he earned his second victory of the year in as many starts (quality starts, each). He shut down the Orioles in 6 2/3 innings Sunday, allowing five hits and striking out eight. He also struck out eight Twins in his 2025 debut.
Bubic kept Baltimore’s hitters baffled throughout Sunday’s series finale. He threw 68 of 99 pitches for strikes and relied on his fastball early in the count. The pitch registered 19 swings, while his changeup generated eight whiffs, per Baseball Savant.
“That was the most swing-and-miss — off the fastball — and it’s worked since the first start,” Bubic said. “We did a good job getting called strikes today. But the changeup for sure, especially when they stacked eight righties in there ... I know that is going to be a pitch that has to come into the fold. It’s nice to see weak contact and swing-and-miss on that.”
Bubic has now allowed just one run in 12 2/3 innings to begin the year, striking out 16 and walking only three.
Royals’ offense still seeking consistency
After crossing home plate just once in Saturday’s loss to the Orioles, the Royals scored early on Sunday against Orioles starter Cade Povich.
First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Michael Massey followed with a two-run double.
But the Royals also left a few scoring chances on the table. They stranded two runners in the second inning and did so again in the fifth.
“We left a lot of runners on base today,” Quatraro said. “We could’ve separated it a lot if we would’ve cashed some of those in. And we would’ve felt differently, too. But overall, a win is a win.”
Hunter Renfroe grounded into an inning-ending double play to end one scoring threat. Later, Salvador Perez struck out with a potential insurance run on third base.
The Royals were 3-for-10 with runners on base Sunday. They left seven men aboard but won anyway.
“We got a couple of runs early and we need to keep pressing and getting on guys late in the game,” Witt said. “Whenever we get a lead with our bullpen and our starters, I like our chances.”
The Royals scored a total of 12 runs during this series. But they had opportunities to do more damage.
Maikel Garcia continues hot all-around start
Garcia is in a groove to start the 2025 season. He is getting it done at the plate and building confidence in center field.
He had two hits and a run scored Sunday. And he showed himself serviceable as an outfielder: In the third inning, he tracked down infielder Jordan Westburg’s drive to the gap in right-center.
“I know the wind was blowing to right field,” Garcia said. “So I was just running hard to the ball and tried to get there because (Hunter) Renfroe was playing a little bit in. I have to cover all the space.”
Garcia ranged to his left to make the terrific play. Then he received a standing ovation from the announced crowd of 19,098. As he arrived at the home dugout, he was congratulated by teammates Perez and Witt at the top of the steps.
In the ninth inning, he charged hard on a popup but deferred to Witt for the catch and one of the game’s final outs.
“It’s hard to play third base, hard to play every position and then go out there and play center field,” Witt said. “I just know how hard it is to go out and play all those different positions. It’s great to see him do that.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2025 at 3:39 PM.
