Field Level Media
Aug 21, 2021
Royals left-hander Kris Bubic took a no-hitter into the seventh inning to lead Kansas City to a 4-2 win over the host Chicago Cubs on Saturday afternoon.
Bubic (4-6) gave up two runs on one hit in 6 1/3 innings for Kansas City, which notched its fifth victory in the past six games. Nicky Lopez went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and two stolen bases to lead the Royals on offense.
Patrick Wisdom hit a two-run homer for the Cubs. The blast marked the only hit of the game for Chicago, which has dropped 14 of its past 16.
Two days after his 24th birthday, Bubic bounced back from his worst start of the season. He walked two, struck out nine and threw 61 of 92 pitches for strikes. He had a no-hitter going into a 34-minute rain delay, but his rhythm appeared to be interrupted by the break as he allowed a homer to Wisdom in the bottom of the seventh.
Cubs right-hander Keegan Thompson (3-3) gave up two runs on five hits in four innings.
Scott Barlow pitched a scoreless ninth for the Royals to earn his eighth save.
Kansas City jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Whit Merrifield singled to right field, advanced to third base on a double by Lopez and scored moments later on a wild pitch by Thompson.
The Royals made it 2-0 in the second. Lopez hit an RBI single to center field to bring in Emmanuel Rivera.
In the fifth, Kansas City increased its lead to 3-0. Andrew Benintendi hit a two-out single to right field, and he scored when Michael A. Taylor doubled to deep left field. Benintendi initially was called out at the plate, but Royals manager Mike Matheny challenged the ruling and it was overturned after video review.
The Royals manufactured another run in the seventh after putting runners on first and third with one out. Lopez stole second base, and Merrifield sprinted home as the Cubs' throw to second ended up in the outfield.
After a rain delay in the middle of the seventh, Wisdom broke up Bubic's no-hitter and shutout with a two-run shot. It was the 20th homer of the season for Wisdom, a 29-year-old who entered 2021 with four career homers.
--Field Level Media