Kansas City, MO – Kris Bubic has been a challenge for most opposing lineups to solve over the last year. The Kansas City Royals lefty had a breakout all-star season in 2025, pitching to a 2.55 ERA, 24.4% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate, and 2.89 FIP over 20 starts.
Bubic’s 2025 season came to an end with a left rotator cuff strain in late July last season, so the Minnesota Twins didn’t know which version they would see in his season debut on Monday. Unfortunately for them, it was an exact copy of the Bubic they saw last season, as the Twins mustered only four hits in a 3-1 loss to the Royals.
“There wasn’t a lot of hard-hit balls on both sides,” said Twins manager Derek Shelton. “I mean, they end up hitting, they hit the solo homer, and then they hit two homers, but there wasn’t really a lot of hard contact. It was a well-pitched game.”
Both teams combined to hit 22 balls in the air for outs, but only three were hit hard enough for the home runs that made the difference in this game. Matt Wallner had the first one in the top of the second, catching a Bubic a sweeper right down the middle to make it 1-0.
Then, in the bottom half of the inning, Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson threw a 2-1 slider down and in on Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel, which traveled 403 feet over the right field fence, giving the Royals a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the game.
Just as it was for the Twins the last time they faced Bubic on May 25 at Target Field last year, they only had two total hits off him in this game. The other was a lead-off single from Austin Martin to start the game.
“I just think he makes his good pitches in good counts,” Wallner said. “The one time I felt like he missed over the plate, I was able to take advantage of it, but other than that just spreading left and right, keeping guys off balance.”
Woods Richardson made his first start of the 2026 season and admitted to feeling the jitters that come with every player’s first game of the year. He threw more balls (13) than strikes (11) in the first inning, and had to regain his rhythm from there after a misstep on his first pitch of the season.
“I tripped,” he said. “I was just trying to throw it over the plate. I think it was like the lowest velo, it was like 87 on there, but I tripped with my front spike.”
He threw an additional 24 pitches thrown in the second, but he was able to get through the next three innings without allowing a base runner on just 35 pitches, keeping the Twins within reach of tying the game. Despite the mistake pitch to Isbel, Woods Richardson feels good about the start to his 2026 season and about setting a floor to build on in his next start.
“I feel like I was able to command the zone after I settled in,” said Woods Richardson. “It was just those long ABs, you know? Allowing hitters to see too many pitches keeps the game dragging, keeps the defense out there on their feet. They get flat-footed. I mean, it’s just a slow game after that. So just trying to get momentum back, trying to get us back in the dugout to get some runs.”
“I thought he slowed himself down,” said Shelton. “I thought early, he was going a little bit fast, and as he got into the rhythm of the game, and I think that’s normal for your first start of the year, that you’re working a little fast. Then you slow yourself down, and I thought he threw the ball well after that and again, not a ton of hard contact.”
Isaac Collins, a Maple Grove native and one of the newest Kansas City Royals, had the third and final home run of the game in the seventh inning.
In Kansas City’s half of the eighth, Salvador Perez hit a fly ball into right field that landed in a triangle of players, Luke Keaschall, Wallner, and Victor Caratini.
Keaschall and Wallner collided as they both tried to get out. Keaschall was able to hold onto the ball as they fell to the ground and get the out. Still, the pop fly was the fourth ball hit into a triangle of Twins defenders, which was rare for Shelton and his team to see.
“We checked on both of them, and they both came out fine,” said Shelton. “That’s a tough ball, I don’t know, there were four balls hit in the triangle today. You might not see four balls hit in a month, and we had four balls hit in the triangle today.”
As for how Wallner felt after his first collision with a teammate this season?
“Never been better.”
The Twins are off Tuesday and resume action Wednesday with Joe Ryan facing off against Noah Cameron. First pitch is set for 6:40 pm.
