‘We believe in him’: Why Royals’ Perez seems poised for renaissance at the plate
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- Salvador Perez laced a 96.2 mph sinker into left field for the go-ahead RBI.
- Perez finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and now leads Kansas City with 24 RBIs.
- Perez made a spinning throw to first to nab Luke Raley for the final out.
There are a lot of adjectives one could use to describe Kansas City Royals team captain Salvador Perez. Terms like “special” and “phenomenal” come to mind.
On Sunday at Kauffman Stadium, Perez exemplified another oft-used adjective in his playbook of descriptors:
Dangerous.
The Seattle Mariners intentionally walked slumping Royals slugger Vinnie Pasquantino to load the bases with two outs. This, after Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo fell behind Pasquantino on a 2-0 count.
That brought Perez to the plate. And giving Pasquantino a free pass turned out to be a big mistake, as Perez laced a 96.2 mph sinker into left field, driving in two runs to give the Royals a 2-1 lead.
The Royals went on to earn an 8-6 victory in the series finale, the sixth game of a nine-game homestand. Perez accounted for three RBIs as Kansas City improved to 22-31 this season.
“I always want moments like that,” Perez said. “You know, doing that, it’s not my first time in the big leagues. I get excited and just try to help my team to win.”
There isn’t much that Perez — who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs — hasn’t seen after 15 seasons in Major League Baseball. He has an innate ability to understand what every situation demands. On Sunday, the Royals needed him to come through with runners in scoring position (RISP).
That has been a tough spot for him in recent seasons. Perez entered Sunday’s game batting .143 with a .442 on-base plus slugging percentage with RISP.
The Mariners opted to trust the numbers. In turn, Perez leveraged his wealth of big-league experience by being aggressive early in the at-bat.
“I’m sure he takes a little extra pride, after the intentional walk,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You know, he’s been doing this for so long, that was really great.”
Perez didn’t let Woo dictate the situation. Instead, he jumped on the Mariners’ pitcher’s first offering and gave the Royals some momentum — on the field and in the dugout.
“I was looking for something in the strike zone and tried to do my job,” Perez said.
The Royals certainly appreciated it. They’ve gotten off to a disappointing start this season and tumbled down the American League Central standings. The last two games, however, serve as a reminder of what this club is capable of.
The Royals have emphasized better pitching and defense and timely hitting. Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia said KC was more aggressive against the Mariners and catcher Carter Jensen took cues from Perez in the game’s biggest moments.
“There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he wasn’t going to get one through and do the job,” Jensen said. “He’s one of the greatest to ever do it for a reason. He’s done it year in and year out. It’s fun watching him do his thing.”
Perez’s sweet swing has returned to form in recent weeks. He has five multi-hit games in his last 12, dating to May 12. That span has coincided with a .289/.340/.489 (13-for-45) slash-line, with three homers, seven RBIs and an .829 OPS.
He leads the Royals this season with 24 RBIs.
“I like to compete every day and I prepare myself every day,” he said. “I’ve been hitting the ball hard right at it, so yeah, I feel pretty good.”
He keeps getting it done defensively, too. In the ninth inning of Sunday’s game he made a spinning throw to put out Mariners outfielder Luke Raley. He chased down a swinging liner near the third-base line and threw a strike to Pasquantino at first base for the game’s final out.
It was the perfect cherry on top of his stellar Sunday effort. After the game, Perez came up with a playful name for himself.
“’The Black Gato,’” Perez said with a smile. “Yeah, I think it’s a really good play to end the game. Just tried to get it as quick as I can.”
The Royals will go as far as Perez can take them. He is one of the club’s superstars and will remain needed if they are to overcome their early deficit in the standings.
Sunday’s game was another step in the right direction. As the summer months heat up, Perez is usually operating at his best.
That’s reason enough to maintain there’s more production in store.
“We believe in him,” Quatraro said. “I know it’s been a hard start to the year for him, offensively overall, but the guy can do it, man.
“He can come through in big moments and get on those fastballs. We’ve seen signs of it this week. To get those results today, in big spots was really important.”
