KANSAS CITY -- Two nights ago, Salvador Perez was mic’d up on ESPN and talking about his teammate hitting in front of him in the lineup, Jac Caglianone.
“For me, he’s the strongest young guy I’ve ever met in my life,” Perez said. “Lifting, the other day, he was 600 pounds squatting. He’s only 23 years old. I’m like, ‘Jac, come on, man.’”
Salvy sees Caglianone’s strength in the weight room. And we all get to see the strength on the field when Caglianone unleashes his powerful left-handed swing to crush baseballs like he did Saturday night.
Kansas City’s first baseman went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two home runs and four RBIs Saturday in the Royals’ 6-3 win over the Cubs at Kauffman Stadium, evening the series ahead of Sunday’s series and homestand finale.
Caglianone’s home run distances totaled 868 feet, his first traveling a Statcast-projected 448 feet to center field in the first inning off Cubs starter Clay Holmes. Caglianone’s second homer was his 20th of the season, 420 feet to the Fountain Deck in right field.
In between, Caglianone launched two doubles, making him the first MLB player this year to hit two doubles and two homers in a game. The last to do so was Junior Caminero on May 31, 2025. Caglianone is the first Royal with four extra-base hits in a game since Kendrys Morales on Sept. 20, 2015.
Caglianone’s first homer helped the Royals get out to an early lead against Holmes, who was making his Cubs debut after they acquired him from the Mets at the Trade Deadline and getting activated off the injured list pregame. The Royals stacked two more runs in the second, and Caglianone’s first double of the night provided a third run. They were hoping for more that inning, but Caglianone was held at third on Isaac Collins’ single before getting thrown out at home when Michael Massey hit a grounder to first base.
The Cubs tagged starter Seth Lugo for three runs in six innings, meaning reliever John Schreiber was working with a slim one-run lead in the seventh inning -- and it didn’t help that he walked No. 9 hitter Tyrone Taylor and leadoff hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong with two outs. But Schreiber got Seiya Suzuki to strike out swinging on a fastball. No one was more fired up than Schreiber walking off the mound.
Caglianone’s second homer of the night immediately provided insurance and some breathing room for the Royals, who then had relievers Steven Cruz and Nate Pearson finish out the game.