KANSAS CITY – There’s a new king at Kauffman Stadium.
Salvador Perez’s solo home run in the sixth inning on Thursday night was his 137th at The K, breaking a tie with George Brett for the most hit in the 54-year history of this ballpark.
It came in an offensive onslaught by the Royals in their 14-6 series-opening win over the Cardinals on Thursday, a wild night from the lineup in which all nine starters reached base, eight knocked at least one hit and three hit homers -- Perez, Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone. The Royals also crushed seven doubles as a team, and their 17 hits were a season high.
They knocked Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore out of the game as part of a six-run second inning but never let up against the St. Louis bullpen.
While concern surrounded Witt’s abrupt exit in the fourth inning with right knee soreness, there’s nothing like celebrating a milestone, especially not when it comes to Perez, the captain and one of the greatest to ever wear the Royals uniform.
It had been 16 games since Perez’s last homer on May 25 versus the Yankees, and it’s been a challenging season overall for the 36-year-old catcher. But he’s chasing history in 2026 as he continues to put the finishing touches on what could be a Hall of Fame career whenever he does decide to hang up his cleats.
On Thursday, he got the Royals’ six-run second inning started with a double, and in the sixth inning, Perez crushed a 2-1 sweeper from Cardinals reliever Max Rajcic, who was making his MLB debut, a Statcast-projected 385 feet out to the left-field corner. That finally broke the tie for most homers at The K with Brett, who has held the record outright since passing Amos Otis on Aug. 24, 1985.
As Perez stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Royals showed his home run on the CrownVision scoreboard, and he received a standing ovation from the crowd, which he acknowledged by tipping his helmet – and then ripping a single into right field for his third hit of the night.
The blast also was Perez’s 313th career home run, putting him just four home runs away from tying Brett for the all-time franchise home run record (317) and five away from surpassing the greatest Royal of all time.
When Perez catches Brett, he will become only the third active player to own his current team’s all-time home run record, joining Mike Trout (421 with the Angels) and Manny Machado (206 with the Padres).
The outburst from the offense backed Royals starter Noah Cameron’s five innings in which he allowed five runs (four earned), walking two and striking out six. The Cardinals took the lead with two runs in the top of the first, but Witt’s homer cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame. And Cameron was able to hold St. Louis scoreless for the next two innings to allow his offense to get to work.