Super Salvy: Perez blasts 2 homers — on his own bobblehead night — to lift Royals
Salvador Perez blasted the first pitch he saw on Wednesday night some 440 feet to center field, igniting the scoring for the Royals.
The Royals led 3-0 after Perez’s homer and a monster two-run shot from rookie Jac Caglianone but saw that advantage evaporate as the Pittsburgh Pirates scored three runs in the sixth inning at Kauffman Stadium.
Then, right when they needed him most, Perez took the first pitch of his eighth-inning at-bat 426 feet to center, giving the Royals just enough margin to edge the Pirates 4-3 and complete their first home sweep since May 5-9 against the Chicago White Sox.
It was almost as if Perez was … Superman. And the longest-tenured Royal and team captain’s heroics were certainly fitting, given Wednesday’s special theme night at The K.
The series finale against Pittsburgh was Superman Night on the Royals’ promotional calendar. With the purchase of a special theme ticket, fans received a special bobblehead in the likeness of none other than Perez, complete with a classic Superman pose and costume.
Perez’s personal Superman Night highlight reel included some sparkling plays at first base. The veteran major-leaguer — who has spent the majority of his career as a catcher — showed athleticism in the first inning, hustling to get an out at first base after starting pitcher Kris Bubic took a comebacker off his shin.
It was a marvelous play, especially for a 35-year-old veteran more accustomed to crouching behind the plate.
“I like to play basketball sometimes,” Perez said with a smile when asked how he stays ready for such action.
Perez’s glove and bat have been especially important for the Royals this summer considering how cold their offense was in June. It’s been a different story for KC in July, for both club and player alike.
Perez has batted .323 this month. He sports a .989 on-base plus slugging percentage as the Royals prepare for their final series before the All-Star break — they welcome the New York Mets in a series starting Friday night.
“Hitting is about making adjustments,” Perez said. “Every day is about making adjustments, just trying to be consistent with my routine.”
Wednesday’s game marked Perez’s second multi-homer outing of the season and the 19th of his career.
“Salvy squared both of those balls up,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Big part of the field, different pitches — he’s seeing the ball well. His exit velos have been up. He’s in a good spot.”
Perez made contact four times Wednesday, going 3-for-4 with hits averaging 106.05 mph off the bat. Even when making an out, his 107.4 mph grounder moved teammate Maikel Garcia over to third and set up Caglianone’s 466-foot blast to dead-center in KC’s next at-bat.
“When he does that, it’s a huge lift to us in the middle of the order for Jac,” Quatraro said of Perez’s contributions. “I think Salvy getting the guy to third there probably took a little bit of pressure off of having to get a hit, and he (Caglianone) just put an easy swing on the ball and crushed it.”
The 22-year-old Caglianone has talked about how special it’s been for him to bat behind the most decorated player in the lineup. Caglianone said he watched Perez — a former World Series MVP — on TV as a kid, so playing alongside him now is still a little surreal.
“I think those were the biggest swings of the night, for sure,” Caglianone said of Perez’s home runs. “Being able to hit behind him and be the first person to back him up after, I definitely don’t take it for granted.
“It’s super special being able to just watch him do what he does.”
This story was originally published July 10, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Super Salvy: Perez blasts 2 homers — on his own bobblehead night — to lift Royals."
