Royals finish exhibition schedule with 3-1 win over Rangers

Kris Bubic looks sharp in his final tune up.

Kris Bubic was sharp over five innings in his final start before the regular season as the Royals defeated the Rangers 3-1 to conclude their spring training schedule.

The Royals jumped on Rangers starter Jacob deGrom in the first with at two-out rally. Michael Massey doubled and came home on a Salvador Perez single to make it 1-0 Royals.

Bubic struck out the side in the first but ran into trouble in the second, giving up a leadoff double to Adolis Garcia. After a Kevin Pillar single, Jonah Heim doubled home a run to tie it, although Bubic escaped further damage.

In the fourth, Salvy showed he is ready for the regular season with a two-run 424-foot blast to center off deGrom.

Bubic would finish strong, striking out the side in the fifth to give him eight Ks on the day.

After that point, the game was populated by a lot of minor leaguers. The Royals got scoreless outings from Chris Stratton, Daniel Lynch IV, Carlos Estevez, and Sam Long. Estevez, who has been nursing back issues, averaged 93 mph on his fastball, striking out catcher Tucker Barnhart.

The Royals improve to 21-12 this spring, the third-best mark in baseball. They will head home for a public workout at the K tomorrow before beginning the regular season on Thursday against the Cleveland Guardians.