Salvador Perez plays in his first game in a year as Royals drop spring opener to Texas
Royals star catcher Salvador Perez compared the feeling of being back in a game setting, albeit a spring training Cactus League game, to the seventh game of the World Series.
Perez played in only one spring training game last season before he had season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Next month will mark the one year anniversary of his surgery, and manager Mike Matheny has said Perez will catch in games this spring, but not in the early stages.
Perez served as the designated hitter and went 0-for-1 with a walk, a fly out and a run scored as the Royals lost 5-4 to the Rangers on Friday afternoon at Surprise Stadium.
“I was excited, you know,” Perez said. “Last year was a long year for me. To be back on the field, hear the anthem, the concentration for the game, I was excited today.”
Aside from live batting practice, Perez hasn’t faced live pitching in a game setting in a year.
“You don’t feel like 100% at home plate, but the more I play I think the better I’m going to get,” Perez said. “I just need to see more pitches to get more in the game and get ready for the season.”
Making his case
Trevor Rosenthal couldn’t have asked for a better start to his spring. After inconsistent performances in the majors last season with the Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers, the Lee’s Summit native signed a minor-league deal and is a non-roster invitee to spring training.
He retired the side in order in the fourth with a pair of strikeouts on fastballs registered at 99 mph on the stadium scoreboard. He retired the other batter on a ground out to second base. He also shattered a bat with a 90 mph change-up on a foul ball.
In the Woods
Rule 5 pick Stephen Woods Jr. made his first appearance in a big-league spring training game when he recorded a 1-2-3 third inning with a strikeouts and a pair of ground outs. Woods hadn’t pitched above the High-A level of the minors before being selected by the Royals in December’s Rule 5 Draft.
Woods, 24, said he didn’t feel nervous on the field. The butterflies hit him in the dugout after his outing.
“It was when I was going down the line of all the players,” Woods said. “I was like, ‘Oh God! I’m here right now.’ Yeah, it was a great feeling.”
More homers
Last year’s American League home run champion Jorge Soler hit a two-run blast to left field in his first plate appearance of the Cactus League season. Perez walked one batter before Soler and scored on the home run. Soler’s blast gave the Royals a 2-0 lead.
Ryan O’Hearn hit a solo home run in the sixth inning in his first plate appearance of the spring.
For the kids
Following Friday’s game the Royals hosted approximately 40 children with special needs for the fourth annual Baseball Fantasy Camp for Kids clinic. Each child received a personalized jersey and took part in a clinic with stations led by players.
Major league players Scott Barlow, Brad Keller, Kevin McCarthy, Brett Phillips and Glenn Sparkman were scheduled to attend along with minor league players Clay Dungan, Brewer Hicklen, Nick Pratto, Bobby Witt Jr.
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 5:16 PM.
