Gubicza Winds Up Cutting Down on Baserunners

Lately, Mark Gubicza’s Kansas City Royal teammates have taken to calling him “Stretch.”

That’s stretch as in pitching out of the stretch, and not a flattering tribute to the right-hander’s 6-foot 5-inch frame.

Gubicza has been winning, but he also has been giving up hits aplenty. He has won five of his last six outings, and except for Saturday’s 7-0 shutout of the Angels at Anaheim Stadium, they all have been adventures in pitching with runners on base.

There was a 7-3 victory over Seattle in his last start last Sunday. He gave up eight hits in that one.

The time before that, on May 31, Gubicza beat Cleveland, 6-3, on a nine-hitter.

He gave up 13 hits in a 4-2 loss to Minnesota on May 25.

And in his two outings before that, Gubicza (8-5) recorded a 4-3 eight-hit victory over Cleveland and a 5-4 nine-hit win over Texas.

So Saturday’s game against the Angels was particularly pleasing to Gubicza, because he allowed a career-low two hits and recorded a season-high nine strikeouts in earning the complete-game victory.

“This was one of the best games of my career,” Gubicza, who had thrown four three-hitters in his career, said. “I was getting a lot of quick first outs. I’ve had so many games lately where I had to come up with a good pitch with the bases loaded.

“I felt great. It’s nice to not be in a situation like that (with the bases loaded).”

Gubicza kept the Angel hitters off-balance and off the bases with a hard slider and a good fastball.

He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning, when, with two out, Chili Davis grounded a single into right field. Gubicza got Jack Howell, the next batter, to ground out.

Gubicza got the Angels out in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh, when he struck out the side. When he got Howell on a called third strike to end the seventh, he eclipsed his previous best of eight strikeouts, set in the May 31 victory over Cleveland.

He got the first two out in the eighth before Darrell Miller reached base on an infield single.

In all, Gubicza allowed just five baserunners Saturday. Howell got aboard on a second-inning walk. Devon White, the next batter, reached on a fielder’s choice, taking Howell’s place at first.

Leading off the ninth, Brian Downing reached base on an error by shortstop Kurt Stillwell. However, Gubicza got the next three batters to preserve his shutout.

“(Gubicza) is learning to be a pitcher now,” Kansas City Manager John Wathan said. “Before, he thought he had to strike everyone out. Now he’s just trying to get the ground-ball outs and let the defense do its work.”

Gubicza forced 13 groundouts Saturday.

Stillwell, who had four hits including a solo homer in the eighth, had a good view of Gubicza’s form from his shortstop position.

“He had some tremendous movement on the ball,” Stillwell said. “He had great velocity.”

And it didn’t hurt Gubicza’s confidence when the Royals, led by Stillwell’s hitting, broke open a 2-0 game with three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth.

“You can go ahead and challenge the hitters instead of trying to hit for the corners,” said Gubicza, who recorded his first shutout since Sept. 23 of last year.

“It’s not going to happen every night, so you have to remember what you did when you go out the next time.”