Salvy homers in first 2 at-bats to spark Royals to victory in I-70 series at The K
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez might as well have been a schoolyard bully picking on the younger kid — in this case, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez.
In their first run-in, Perez basically took his lunch money. Second encounter, Perez stuffed him into a locker. Third time around, he shoved his face in the dirt.
Perez smashed a pair of home runs in his first two at-bats and also collected a double against Martinez on his way to a five-RBI night, setting the tone for a 12-3 win over the Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium Wednesday.
Outfielder Franchy Cordero, reinstated from the injured list before the game, also blasted a pair of home runs to help lead a 14-hit attack. They were his first two homers as a member of the Royals after being acquired earlier this summer from the San Diego Padres via trade. Cordero also drove in a career-high 5 runs.
The victory secured the Royals (23-33) a series win in the Kansas City portion of the I-70 Series and earned them a split of the season series with the Cardinals (27-26). It also marked their first win in a rubber match since September 12, 2019.
“There’s something to be said for winning series,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “If want to have the kind of sustained success that we believe we can have, you’re going to have to win series.”
Perez had recorded the sixth multi-homer game of his career and the third five-RBI game of his career by the end of the third inning. He homered in each of his first two at-bats, a pair of mammoth blasts that covered a combined 872 feet.
Perez, who saw his nine-game hitting streak snapped Tuesday night, crushed a two-run homer to start the scoring Wednesday. With Adalberto Mondesi on base, Perez launched a first-pitch slider an estimated 437 feet to center field, where it smashed into the batter’s eye.
“Leaving to that part of the yard, the one he hit for the two-run early (was impressive) and then he smashed the second one,” Matheny said. “He dropped the head really well. Salvy has just been impressive since day one. Even with the setback. He just jumped right back into it and has been as good as ever. To see the ball jump like it’s jumping for him is pretty impressive.”
The Royals’ third run came the next inning on a RBI single by Cordero that deflected off of Martinez (0-3).
Perez’s second home run of the night came in the third following a Whit Merrifield single and a Mondesi walk. Perez crushed a 1-0 pitch into the fountains beyond the left-center wall to give the Royals a 6-0 lead.
He added a bloop double in the fifth inning on a fly ball that Cardinals right fielder Dexter Fowler couldn’t haul in despite covering a lot of ground to the right-field foul line.
“I was working hard in the offseason,” Perez said. “I want to be better hitting, and I still want to be better behind home plate. I created a routine, try to do the same thing every day. … I think that was my biggest key this year.”
Perez even nitpicked his final at-bat, and faulted himself for swinging at a high fastball on a 3-2 count. He felt he should’ve walked.
Despite having missed 20 games with blurred vision, Perez pushed his season totals to 10 home runs, 29 RBIs, 12 doubles and 21 runs scored in 33 games. This all comes on the heels of Perez having missed last season after he had Tommy John surgery in March 2019.
Since returning from a IL stint with blurred vision caused by a left eye central serous chorioretinopathy — he has another follow-up appointment scheduled for Thursday — he has batted .447 with six home runs, 17 RBIs and a 1.416 OPS in 11 games.
“He doesn’t surprise me with anything that he does,” Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy said. “He’s an elite catcher. In my mind, he’s the best defensive catcher in this game, and he’s proven to be the best offensive catcher in this game. There’s not another person that I would want behind the plate. Obviously, I’m biased.
“When a guy displays elite skill-set and elite talent on both sides of the ball day in and day out, it doesn’t surprise you anymore. It’s just what you come to expect. So we’re very fortunate to have him, as a staff. He does what he does. He’s a pro.”
Duffy (4-4) allowed one run on six hits and one walk in 5 2/3 innings. He also struck out five. He started the night having retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced. He’s now 3-1 in five careers starts against the Cardinals.
The Royals begin their season-ending four-game series against the Detroit Tigers in Kansas City Thursday night.
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 10:04 PM.
