Kansas City Royals' rookie left-hander Kris Bubic faced off against a Milwaukee Brewers lineup that battered veteran lefty Danny Duffy one night earlier, and Bubic didn't blink.
However, Bubic was the hard-luck loser in a 5-0 loss to the Brewers at Miller Park on Saturday night. The Brewers, who scored four runs against the Royals' bullpen in the eighth inning, clinched a series victory ahead of Sunday afternoon's finale of the three-game set.
The Royals (21-31) have now lost three of four. Salvador Perez saw the end of his streak of multi-hit games as well as his streak of games with an extra-base hit. Both streaks had gone six games. Royals hitters struck out 15 times.
For the second consecutive start, Bubic (1-6) allowed one earned run or fewer. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed one unearned on one hit and four walks against the Brewers (25-26). He also struck out seven.
Jacob Nottingham's RBI double in the eighth inning was later followed by a Ryan Braun three-run home run that put the Brewers ahead 5-0.
