Bay Area natives Kris Bubic, Lucas Erceg teaming up in back end of Kansas City Royals’ bullpen

Kris Bubic and Lucas Erceg didn’t anticipate playing on the same baseball team this year.

But that unexpected scenario came to pass when Erceg was traded to the Kansas City Royals from the A’s on July 30, just ahead of the MLB trade deadline. Suddenly, two Bay Area natives found themselves in the same major-league bullpen.

The two local pitchers have a lot in common.

Erceg grew up in San Jose and attended Westmont High School, Cal and Menlo College. He was selected by the...