Royals star Salvador Perez stands alone after towering home run against Cardinals
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Perez hit his 137th career home run at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday night.
- Perez's sixth-inning homer came off Cardinals rookie Max Rajcic in his MLB debut.
- Perez now has 313 career home runs and sits five homers behind George Brett's mark.
History was made at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday night.
In the sixth inning, Kansas City Royals star Salvador Perez surpassed Hall of Famer George Brett with his 137th career home run at the club’s home venue.
Perez hit an 83.1 mph sweeper off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Max Rajcic — who was making his major-league debut. The baseball traveled over the left-field wall and Perez circled the bases for the 313th time in his illustrious career.
He received a standing ovation afterward, before play continued with the Royals well ahead of the visiting Cardinals.
There’s another Royals record in Perez’s future: The team captain now sits just five homers shy of Brett’s all-time franchise mark. Brett hit 317 and has sat atop the leaderboard for decades.
Perez continues to inch closer. On Thursday he showed signs of breaking out of his prolonged slump. He also recorded a double in the second inning — and that was nearly Thursday night’s record-breaker as it just caught the top of the right-field wall.
Perez is hitting .204 through 70 games this season. His sixth-inning homer was his first since a May 25 game against the New York Yankees.
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 9:36 PM.
