Salvador Perez hit his first home run for the Kansas City Royals nearly 15 years ago, and that milestone occurred against the American League Central rival Detroit Tigers.
The 36-year-old catcher still is with the Royals, and he’ll aim for the franchise home run record when he returns to Detroit for the opener of a four-game series on Thursday evening.
Perez blasted career home run No. 317 on Wednesday to spark a five-run rally in the seventh inning against the visiting San Francisco Giants. Kansas City held on for a 5-4 win to complete a three-game sweep before embarking on a 10-game trip.
The two-run blast cleared the center-field fence and landed in the fountain, prompting a fan to leap into the water in an attempt to retrieve the ball — only to be arrested and escorted out empty-handed.
“If I was him, I’d maybe jump too and try to get that ball,” Perez joked. “Thank you for the hard work trying to get that ball.”
Perez hit his first MLB home run in Detroit off young right-hander Max Scherzer on Aug. 29, 2011, helping the Royals to a 9-5 win.
Scherzer went on to become an eight-time All Star, while Perez was selected nine times.
“What he does, the way he goes about it, the passion with the way he plays the game, it’s unrivaled,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said of Perez in an emotional news conference following the win on Wednesday. “The guy’s a Hall of Famer, and you’re getting to witness it.”
The Royals were trailing 3-0 on Wednesday when Perez came up with no outs in the seventh and Vinnie Pasquantino on second base. He waited on an 0-1 curve from Landen Roupp and launched it out of the park to tie George Brett’s franchise record.
Brett was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999.
“I’ve said it before,” Quatraro said. “My age (52), knowing of George as a fan, and anytime you’re in that breath, it’s awesome.”
Perez will be up against a young right-hander who hasn’t allowed a home run in his past three starts.
Troy Melton (5-1, 1.80 ERA) also has combined to allow just one earned run in those outings, which cover 17 1/3 innings.
Melton, 25, said he felt strong and rested coming out of the All-Star break. He then limited the Los Angeles Angels to one run and four hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 2-1 win last Friday in Anaheim, Calif.
He was one out from taking the loss, but the Tigers scored two runs with two outs in the ninth.
“The time off, I felt a little bit better than normal,” said Melton, who grew up a few miles from Anaheim. “The adrenaline of being home definitely plays into the factor as well.”
Melton made two relief appearances against Kansas City last season and allowed one run and five hits in a combined three innings.
The Tigers return home after winning four of six on the road coming out of the All-Star break, most recently 5-1 in the decisive contest of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday evening.
The Royals plan to start right-hander Randy Dobnak in the series opener on Thursday.
Dobnak (0-0, 1.93) is coming off his first MLB start in five years and he earned another opportunity after holding the visiting San Diego Padres to one run and four hits over 4 1/3 innings of a 6-1 win last Saturday.
Dobnak, who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners last month for cash considerations., made 21 starts for the Minnesota Twins from 2019-21, but since then his MLB experience is limited to nine appearances over the past three seasons.
The 31-year-old has made five appearances against the Tigers in his career, including three starts, and is 2-1 with a 5.12 ERA.
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