‘Amazing’: Salvador Perez says of tying his friend’s Royals home run record with 48
Kansas City Royals star Salvador Perez tied the franchise home run record set by friend and former teammate Jorge Soler on Wednesday night.
Perez launched the first pitch he saw from Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Zach Plesac for a three-run blast 439-feet to center field in the first inning of the Royals’ 10-5 win at Kauffman Stadium.
With four games left in the season, Perez has a major-league leading 48 home runs, leading the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. by two, and 121 RBIs, leading the White Sox’s Jose Abreu by eight.
Soler hit 48 homers in 2019, the season Perez missed after having Tommy John surgery in March of that year.
“It was amazing, another great night,” Perez said of tying the record. “Thank God. It’s amazing, running these bases all season long and now to see me at home tie Jorge Soler. That’s amazing. I was so happy. We’re going to see. We’ve got four more games. We’re going to see.”
Following his first-inning home run, Perez received a curtain call for the second night in a row from the fans in the ballpark. Perez hit his 47th homer on Tuesday night.
Prior to his second at-bat Wednesday, Perez had to be helped up by teammates in the dugout as he hurt his ankle coming off the field at the end of the second inning.
Perez did bat in the second inning when his spot in the lineup came up. He struck out to end the inning, and backup catcher Cam Gallagher took over behind the plate at the start of the third inning.
Perez expressed a desire to be in the lineup on Thursday night, provided he feels OK.
This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 6:39 AM.
