Familiar face continues to settle into dominance of Twins after years of struggle

For years, the Minnesota Twins had Kris Bubic's number. The 28-year-old left-handed pitcher for the Kansas City Royals had allowed 25 earned runs in his first nine appearances against the Twins, which was through the 2022 season.

But that is a completely different version of the Bubic we know now. Last year, he had a career-best season (2.55 ERA, 9.0 K/9, 161 ERA+) in a resurgent effort, which included him firing seven innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts in one start against the Twins.

Bubic continued that new-found dominance against Minnesota on Monday in Kansas City's home opener as part of a 3-1 victory. Unfortunately for the Twins, this is something they need to get used to.

Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic cruises by Twins again in team's 2026 home opener

Bubic, earning the win, tossed six innings on Monday and allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts. The lone run came on a solo homer from Matt Wallner in the second inning.

Last season, Bubic started using his fastball and sweeper less, and his changeup and sinker more. Two of his strikeouts against the Twins on Monday came via changeup, one came on a slider, and the other on a fastball. All of his pitches were effective.

For the Twins, this was a disappointing effort after losing their first series to the Balitmore Orioles, which included a strange ejection of first-year manager Derek Shelton, who also had some questionable decisions. Putting up one run against an AL Central division rival on Monday was not the response that fans were looking for, but Bubic is clearly riding a different wave than prior seasons.

The Royals and Twins return to action on Wednesday, April 1. The Twins will run out Joe Ryan for his second start of the season against Noah Cameron, who dazzled against Minnesota last year in his rookie season. Cameron allowed one run across two starts against the Twins in 2025, logging 12 strikeouts in 12.1 innings.