For all his illustrious accolades, Kansas City Royals star Salvador Perez can finally celebrate the one record that has always eluded him.
On Saturday, Perez set the Royals’ all-time home run record against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. He eclipsed Hall of Famer George Brett — who held the prestigious honor for over three decades.
In the seventh inning, Perez belted his 318th career homer off Tigers right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan. He crushed an 84.1 mph slider and the baseball landed just above the left-field bullpen.
As Perez rounded the bases, he received a nice ovation from his teammates. He celebrated with Vinnie Pasquantino at home plate before giving Royals coach Miguel Garcia a big hug right outside the KC dugout.
It was a memorable moment. Perez, who hit his first career home run in 2011 at Comerica Park, now has another milestone at the special venue.
The Royals would win 3-2 against the Tigers.
Here’s how Saturday’s game unfolded:
Michael Wacha steady again
Royals veteran starter Michael Wacha has been a steady presence for the organization all season.
The Royals, however, have failed to offer him adequate run support. He has received an average of 3.38 runs of support in his starts — second-fewest in the majors (min. 20 starts). In each of his last 12 outings, he’d gotten three runs or fewer.
The ugly trend continued Saturday. Wacha pitched his 14th quality start — allowing two runs across seven innings — but took a no-decision.
Detroit third baseman Hao-Yu Lee did most of the damage. He hit an RBI double in the second inning and followed with his sixth homer in the fourth.
Both runs were charged to Wacha. While he didn’t record many strikeouts, he relied on his defense to navigate the Tigers’ order.
In the fifth inning, Royals catcher Carter Jensen threw out Colt Keith at second, who was trying to advance on a passed ball. Wacha also escaped trouble by stranding two runners in the sixth.
The Royals just couldn’t get much going at the plate. After striking out 12 times against Detroit ace Tarik Skubal on Friday, KC’s hitters struggled against former All-Star right-hander Casey Mize.
Mize also had a quality start, allowing just one run across six innings while scattering three hits.
Perez knotted the game in the seventh. The record-breaking homer, his 15th of 2026, turned the late innings into a battle of the bullpens.
Nick Loftin provides winning run
The Royals got a ninth-inning lift from Nick Loftin, who hit a solo homer off Tigers right-handed reliever Jacob Waguespack.
The go-ahead run set the stage for Royals relievers Daniel Lynch IV and Alex Lange. Lange took over in the bottom half of the ninth for his 10th save of the year.
The Royals improved to 44-62 this season. On Sunday, they will go for a series split against their American League Central rivals. The Tigers dropped to 50-55.
What’s next: As of Saturday afternoon, the Royals hadn’t announced a starting pitcher for Sunday’s series finale against the Tigers. Detroit will turn to left-hander Framber Valdez (5-7, 4.57 ERA), with first pitch set for 12:40 p.m. Central Time at Comerica Park.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.kansascity.com ’
