Rocks' Bubic blows away Woodpeckers

Through his first two starts in the Carolina League, Kris Bubic admittedly was putting extra pressure on himself as he adjusted to his new surroundings. By the time his third start rolled around, he told himself he was at a higher level for a reason and he wouldn't need to stray much from the formula that worked for him previously.
Sure enough, the ninth-ranked Royals prospect bounced back Friday by striking out 10 over six innings, scattering six hits and a walk, as Class A Advanced Wilmington blanked Fayetteville, 2-0, at Frawley Stadium. It was his first scoreless outing since May 4 and the longest since his promotion on May 21.

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Wielding all three pitches, fastball, changeup and curveball, the Stanford product felt more in command from the outset. Although he hadn't faced the Woodpeckers before Friday, Wilmington squared off with Fayetteville last weekend. Feeding off that, Bubic picked up that he'd be facing an aggressive lineup, which he used to his advantage.
In trusting his stuff, the California native produced his fourth scoreless game of the year and got back into double-digit punchouts after not fanning a single batter his last time out.
"From the get-go, I felt comfortable, we had a good game plan," he said. "We had a pretty good game plan coming in; obviously, we had seen these guys the week before. And we had a good plan of attack coming in. I was just comfortable throwing all three pitches for strikes in any count tonight."
Bubic started the season with Class A Lexington, where he blazed through the South Atlantic League. In 11 starts, the southpaw rattled off four wins while compiling a 2.08 ERA and 0.88 WHIP with 75 strikeouts over 47 2/3 innings. That dominance earned a promotion 2 1/2 weeks ago, but the success didn't immediately follow. 
In his first two starts -- both against Myrtle Beach -- Bubic was touched for seven runs on 11 hits and five walks in 10 1/3 innings. Though he allowed seven baserunners and faced four batters over the minimum on Friday, he hung in to complete his longest start since joining the Blue Rocks. He pounded the zone all night, throwing 73 of a season-high 104 pitches for strikes. 
"I think for me, through the year, it's about getting confidence with experience," Bubic said. "Obviously, I'm at a different level now than what I started the year with, but that doesn't necessarily mean I have to change anything. ... The hitters are a little bit more advanced with their approaches, a lot more of them can hurt you up and down the lineup. They maybe don't chase as many pitches."
Things easily could have gotten out of hand in the first inning when Jacob Meyers laced a leadoff double and Colton Shaver walked two batters later. The 2018 first-round pick "kept an aggressive mentality" and didn't falter as Jake Adams bounced into an inning-ending double play. 
Bubic worked around baserunners in the next two frames before striking out five of six batters across the fourth and fifth. 
The 21-year-old bookended his night by escaping another jam. After three straight singles to start the sixth, the Woodpeckers were in position to break into the run column. But after a visit from pitching coach Steve Luebber, Bubic struck out Astros No. 23 prospectJonathan Arauz, Colton Shaver and Adams. 
"It's staying aggressive and feeling a good rhythm and maintaining my approach when I'm on the mound," he said. "If I do all of that, the rest of it will take care of itself. ... That was obviously pretty exciting in a tight game like that. Bases loaded, nobody out -- I've got blood in the water. They're looking to make a dent in that game there. And for me, my team and our catcher [Sebastian Rivero] to be on the same page there was huge."
The last inning vaulted him to his third double-digit strikeout performance of the year and fifth since turning pro a season ago. The lefty also lowered his Carolina League ERA by more than two runs to 3.86.

"The whole year, Wilmington has played in a lot of tight ballgames, the pitching staff has obviously been the strength," Bubic said. "Obviously, if I have momentum early, put up a couple of zeros early, then we're looking to finish the outing strong as well. I want to put up as many zeros as I can and let the offense find its rhythm."
Josh Dye(1-0), Holden Capps and Tyler Zuber combined to pitch three scoreless innings to finish off Wilmington's seventh shutout of the season.
With the game scoreless in the seventh, Cristian Perez singled in two runs to put the Blue Rocks ahead for good. They reduced their magic number for clinching the Northern Division first-half title to one.