After doing a solid job of keeping the ball in the yard for his first 12 starts in a 7-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on June 12.
Despite the low inning total, this will actually be his third start of the campaign, but the others went terribly, as he has allowed a total of eight earned runs on eight hits and five walks overall this season.
After getting lit up for six earned runs over two innings against the Houston Astros on on June 8, Pérez couldn’t record more than four outs before exiting against the Blue Jays last time out, allowing five earned runs and three home runs before handing the ball to Alex Cora.
Despite that extra experience, Bubic, who throws a fastball, a curveball and a changeup, still has some work to do, as he has been worth -0.3 fWAR this season despite an acceptable 4.01 ERA.
In that contest, he logged his 11th start without giving up a home run this season, pushing his MLB-leading mark in home runs allowed per nine innings down to 0.34.
However, youth has not served him well this season, as the right-hander enters the weekend with a 6.14 ERA, while ranking in the the bottom 10th percentile in MLB in a number of categories, including xwOBA, xERA and xSLG.
This would have been the first time the Red Sox faced Andrew Benintendi in a Royals jersey since they traded him to Kansas City this past offseason, but Benintendi is currently on the 10-day injured list with a fractured rib.
Shortstop Adalberto Mondesi is a burner when he gets on base, stealing 99 bases over the previous three seasons.
Michael A.
As I mentioned, Benintendi is currently on the shelf as is left-handed starting pitcher Danny Duffy, who was in the midst of a very solid campaign before he went on the 10-day injured list in May with a strained forearm flexor.
This should be a pretty good weekend for baseball, albeit a hot one.