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, Royals star Salvador Perez surpassed Hall of Famer George Brett with his 137th home run at Kansas City’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.
“It means a lot, especially with a Hall of Famer like George Brett,” Perez said. “I got an opportunity to spend a lot of time with him. One of the best and one of the greatest. Feels pretty good, but like I always say, I think the most important thing is that we won the game tonight.”
Perez received a standing ovation after belting the record homer. And then play continued, the Royals well on their way to beating the visiting Cardinals 14-6.
“I’m glad they recognized it in front of the home crowd, you know, while it was the same night,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “So everybody that was here got to applaud him. But the guy’s a legend and everything he does is another milestone.”
There’s another Royals record in Perez’s future: The team captain is now 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 a prolonged slump, too. 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 .207 through 70 games this season. His sixth-inning homer was his first since a May 25 game against the New York Yankees.
“I just do my best and help my team to win ...” he said. “Earlier this season, we struggled a little bit. I just make an adjustment every day.
“I like to compete and I like to prepare myself. I’m going to give everything I have to try to be better at home plate right now. Especially like tonight.”
Perez has now hit at least 10 homers in 14 different seasons. It’s the second-most in franchise history, also behind Brett (15 seasons).
“Everybody was happy he made that homer,” Royals outfielder Starling Marte said. “Everybody knows what he was looking for, for a record. Everybody was excited for him and hopefully he continues to make many more homers.
Royals starter Noah Cameron had a special seat for Perez’s record night. He pitched five innings, allowing four runs but getting the win.
“It was awesome, especially just throwing to him tonight, the night that he did that,” Cameron said. “I’m super proud of him and obviously, he’s a legend. Just kind of fun to watch.”
Perez has belted 70 interleague homers. He will try to help the Royals secure a victory in the Interstate 70 series against the Cardinals on Friday night.
This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 9:36 PM with the headline "Royals star Salvador Perez stands alone after towering home run against Cardinals."
