Behind Kris Bubic, Royals bid for sweep of Astros

The Kansas City Royals will look to extend their longest winning streak of the season on Sunday afternoon when they host the Houston Astros in the finale of a three-game series.

Fresh off a pair of 2-0 victories over Houston to boost its winning streak to six games, Kansas City will aim for its second straight sweep on the final day of its six-game homestand.

"I think all that matters in our locker room is the win," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. "There's going to be nights where we win 10-8, and there's going to be nights when we win 2-0. A win is all that matters, and that's what our singular focus is."

Sunday's starter, Kris Bubic (2-1, 1.45 ERA), hopes to continue the Kansas City pitching staff's scoreless stretch. The left-hander enters his sixth start of the season with the American League's fourth-best ERA.

In his last start, Bubic struck out six over seven scoreless innings Tuesday in a no-decision against the Colorado Rockies. The Royals won 4-3 in 11 innings.

Bubic, 27, is 0-1 with a 2.38 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) versus Houston.

Offensively, Bobby Witt Jr. extended his career-best hitting streak to 18 games in Saturday's win and is batting .318 with a team-leading 34 hits. Vinnie Pasquantino connected on his team-high third home run of the season.

Houston entered the weekend set as a winner of three games in a row but hasn't mustered a run in 24 consecutive innings. The Astros have nine hits in the series and just three for extra bases.

"We're having a tough time getting a big hit," manager Joe Espada said. "I don't want to take any credit away from Kansas City -- I think we've been pitched pretty tough. We've faced two good starters (Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha) and a pretty good bullpen. They're playing pretty good baseball; they're kind of on a winning streak right now, so we've just got to forget about this one, turn the page and bounce back, get a win (Sunday)."

One of Houston's lone bright spots this weekend has been third baseman Isaac Paredes, who's gone 4-for-8 with a pair of doubles.

The Astros' offensive struggles have been a theme this season, with the team tied for 26th in the majors with 92 runs and 28th overall with just 19 homers. The club does have the fourth-best ERA (3.19) and will look to continue that solid pitching in the series finale.

Right-hander Hunter Brown (3-1, 1.16 ERA) has been a key factor in the staff's hot start -- owning baseball's third-best ERA.

Brown has thrown three consecutive scoreless outings, including a seven-inning shutout of the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, when he struck out a season-high nine batters in a 7-0 victory.

The 26-year-old right-hander hasn't fared well against Kansas City, going 0-2 with a 13.06 ERA (15 earned runs in 10 1/3 innings) in three starts.

Houston is aiming to avoid a second straight sweep at Kauffman Stadium, following three consecutive losses at Kansas City in April 2024. The teams will square off in Houston for a three-game set beginning May 12.

--Field Level Media