Pérez’s first hit of 2026? A go-ahead homer as Tigers win 5th straight
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DETROIT -- Wenceel Pérez had been waiting for his first hit of the season. Much like his first Major League callup, it came at an unexpected time, but a good one.
The switch-hitting outfielder had been on deck to pinch-hit for an injured Zach McKinstry against Royals lefty reliever Daniel Lynch IV on Wednesday night when the seventh inning ended. Instead, Pérez entered the game in center field, led off the eighth inning against right-hander Eli Morgan and slugged a go-ahead home run, lifting the Tigers back to .500 with their fifth straight win and second consecutive 2-1 victory over the Royals.
“I was hoping for that first hit,” he said. “It came at a big moment.”
Much like Pérez's promotion to Detroit last week, it was a reward for patience and perseverance. A regular in the Tigers' outfield for much of the previous two seasons, he was one of the final cuts from camp in Spring Training, the odd man out with the combination of his early-spring struggles at the plate and Kevin McGonigle’s charge to the Opening Day roster. Pérez took the advice of Tigers hitting coaches and made adjustments at the plate at Triple-A Toledo, then was summoned back to Detroit to replace the injured Parker Meadows.
While Pérez has cut down on his strikeout struggles from spring, he hadn’t been rewarded for it since his return, going 0-for-10 with a walk over his first three games with Detroit. He was out of Wednesday’s starting lineup but got the call to get ready after McKinstry bruised his left hip tripping over Jac Caglianone while charging a Starling Marte ground ball in the seventh inning.
“Having the switch-hitter at that point in the game, they’ve got a decision to make,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. “If they send Lynch back out, he’s got to face at least two hitters. If not, they’ve got to deal with a left-handed bat if they bring a righty in.
“Obviously, I love Wenceel being a weapon. I didn’t necessarily plan to use him in that spot when Z-Mac came out of the game. A couple things stand out: His ability to switch-hit is one, and our [positional] versatility allowed us to do anything.”
Pérez began the seventh inning swinging left-handed in the cage to be ready for a right-hander with Royals starter Seth Lugo still in the game. Once Lynch entered, he switched around and prepared to bat right-handed. Morgan’s entry turned him around once again, this time leading off the eighth. Pérez never faced Morgan during the reliever’s four-season stint in the Guardians' bullpen, but he knew to expect the changeup.
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“I was looking for it a little bit, and I saw it pretty well,” Pérez said. “He threw me two fastballs in a row, and his second pitch is the changeup. He has a good changeup, so I thought he was going to throw it.”
When Morgan’s changeup works, it’s his great equalizer against left-handed hitters, and nasty enough that even sitting on it doesn’t always help. Opposing hitters batted .273 against it last year, but with a .197 expected average thanks to a 25 percent whiff rate and an average launch angle of just two degrees. He had given up one homer off the changeup since 2024, though he didn’t pitch much last year due to an elbow impingement.
After back-to-back 90 mph fastballs, Morgan put the 76 mph changeup at the knees but over the plate. Pérez golfed it, but enough to loft it just over the right-field wall.
“I knew that I hit it well,” he said. “I thought it was going to go farther, but I knew it was going to go over.”
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His excitement was well warranted.
“It’s awesome for him,” Hinch said. “He cares a lot. He has an infectious personality. He just got recognized in that [clubhouse] for staying the course and then coming up big.”
It was the Tigers’ second consecutive eighth-inning rally, but in a completely different fashion than Tuesday’s comeback victory. Still, like McKinstry’s tying run Tuesday, it was a reward for filling a role on a team that plays matchups more than anybody.
“I'm just trying to do whatever I can to stay ready for any situation that they need me,” Pérez said. “I can only control this game here and work as hard as I can with the bat to bring a good bat to the clubhouse. Things happen.”