<\/p>\n
Detroit \u2014 It’s never pleasant when these things happen against you. But there is a place within the competition for genuine respect for a decorated opponent.<\/p>\n Case in point: Kansas City Royals<\/a> catcher Salvador Perez.<\/p>\n Perez’s solo home run off Kyle Finnegan leading off the seventh inning tied the score at 2-2 and set the stage for teammate Nick Loftin’s winning home run off Jacob Waguespack in the ninth that gave the Royals a 3-2 victory over the Tigers Saturday before 32,867 at Comerica Park.<\/p>\n For Perez, it was his 318th career home run, making him the Royals’ franchise leader, surpassing Hall-of-Famer George Brett.<\/p>\n “I’ve been in the league a long time with Salvy,” Tigers manager AJ HInch said. “I’ve watched him grow and I’ve been on the tough side of a lot of competition with him. I love that he plays with joy and I love that he posts every day. This guy comes to play every day. … It’s tough when it comes at your expense, but you have to take a step away from that and respect greatness when it’s right in front of us.<\/p>\n “He’s the best catcher to play in my generation in the game.”<\/p>\n Similar sentiments were echoed in the Tigers’ clubhouse.<\/p>\n “I feel like he’s a pillar of Major League Baseball and of the American League Central,” said Casey Mize, who allowed just one run through six innings. “He’s a guy who has been tough on me since Day One in the league. I have a lot of respect for him as a hitter and a catcher. Just a special player for their franchise and for our league.”<\/p>\n Tigers’ catcher Jake Rogers grew up watching and admiring Perez.<\/p>\n “That was hard in the moment but I’m happy for him,” Rogers said. “He’s an incredible talent and an incredible person. It’s been really fun to see, from the other side, him do his thing. I am super proud for him.”<\/p>\n The Royals’ two late homers drove home an obvious point for the Tigers: It’s tough to win on a daily basis scoring just two runs.<\/p>\n “It felt like we had a lot of chances to win that game in a lot of different ways,” said Colt Keith, who got two of the Tigers’ six hits off starter Michael Wacha. “But it didn’t go our way. Wacha was really good. He was dotting up and he had us on our toes and he kept his pitch count down.”<\/p>\n The Tigers were 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.<\/p>\n “It’s not going to happen every time,” Hinch said. “Execution today hurt us a couple of times when we had a runner at second and nobody out and he doesn’t advance. But that’s part of baseball. We tried to extend the game the best we could and we had a tough time there, too. You want to win them all and you want to execute perfectly. The sport doesn’t always allow that.”<\/p>\n Perez hit a slider from Finnegan that backed up and stayed over the plate. Loftin hit a center-cut 94-mph fastball from Waguespack.<\/p>\n “That’s what hitters do up here,” Rogers said. “We needed to be a little better and execute a little better. It was a tough game, as far as that. But their guys did what hitters do against mistakes \u2014 they hit them a long way.”<\/p>\n For Finnegan, it continues a run of feast-of-famine outings. It was his seventh blown save.<\/p>\n “His mistakes have gotten punished,” Hinch said. “I’ve been leaning on those guys a lot and I always worry about that. Especially power pitchers. He’s able to escape it with a good splitter and a good slider and he does have an explosive fastball. But execution is super key for him.<\/p>\n “He’s always been an explosive guy and he still has that explosiveness. But the mistakes have gotten him burned.”<\/p>\n