ST. PETERSBURG -- Kris Bubic needed just 12 pitches to get through the bottom of the first inning Saturday, efficiency that he hoped would set the tone against the Rays at Tropicana Field.

Instead, his next inning almost felt like it would never end.

Bubic needed 36 pitches in a three-run second inning that put the Royals behind in their 5-2 loss Saturday, setting up Sunday’s finale in which Kansas City hopes to avoid a series loss and a disappointing end to the week-long road trip.

“Compared to how I’ve thrown the last couple months, this is one you throw away,” Bubic said. “... At the end of the day, there were enough executed pitches and enough soft contact mixed in that you take your chances on those days. A lot of the time, those balls turn into outs.”

After celebrating his 25th birthday on Friday, Bubic entered Saturday on a run of success over the past two months, posting a 3.79 ERA since returning from Triple-A Omaha in the beginning of June and holding opponents to three earned runs or fewer in all but three of his 14 starts. That included his start against the Rays on July 24 in Kansas City, when he cashed in one of his strongest performances by spinning seven innings of two-run ball.

But on Saturday, the Rays were aggressive against Bubic with consistent contact. They took 45 swings over 3 2/3 innings against the left-hander, whiffing on just five of them and taking just five called strikes.

The Royals' offense was aggressive against right-hander Drew Rasmussen, too, but wasn’t able to see any results until the top of the sixth inning when Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino each drove in a run.

“They were swinging the bat today,” said catcher MJ Melendez, who had the Royals’ first hit of the day in the sixth. "They came ready. It was something we weren’t able to do until later in the game.”

While Bubic’s lack of fastball command led to some of his mixed results, he found the totality of his start puzzling when looking at the numbers afterward, based on the soft contact he generated and the pitches he felt he executed.

Bubic threw 76 pitches, 50 of which were strikes. And 40 of those strikes were either fouls (22) or put in play (18). But Bubic only generated hard contact (95 mph or higher exit velocity) on four of those balls in play: Yandy Díaz’s single and double in the first and fourth innings, respectively, Isaac Paredes’ double in the second and Yu Chang’s groundout in the third.

“Only four hard-hit balls out of 18 in play,” Bubic said. “I’ll take my chances on that. I felt like everything in the zone was either in play or a foul ball. Then they didn’t expand at all. … You could tell, even when you feel like you’re making good pitches, you’re still spoiling them or putting them in play.

“It was just getting that feeling where you couldn’t really get something by them or really put someone away. So where do you go from there? Is the stuff not playing? Is it sequencing? At the end of the day, it’s one of those games that’s frustrating. But sometimes those balls turn into outs, sometimes they don’t. It’s one of those days.”

Bubic’s long second inning began with Francisco Mejía’s 47.3 mph single that bounced weirdly on the turf and deflected off second baseman Michael Massey’s glove. Then came Paredes’ double, Chang’s 89.2 mph single through the left side of the infield and Taylor Walls’ 80.2 mph double to left field that gave the Rays a three-run lead.

Bubic had a hard time commanding his fastball -- especially inside -- against the Rays' right-handed lineup, so they were able to stay on the changeup and curveball.

After finally getting out of the second inning on what was going to be his last batter, he was able to hang on until the fourth, when the Rays plated another run and manager Mike Matheny turned to the Royals’ bullpen to keep the score where it was.

“It’s amazing how being able to put the fastball there and speeding them up opens the door to everything else,” Matheny said. “His changeup will get swing and miss if he sped them up with the fastball. His curveball is going to get swing and miss if the fastball is doing what it’s supposed to do. It all hinges on that.”