KANSAS CITY – Salvador Perez tied a Kauffman Stadium record and passed Hall of Famer Iván Rodríguez on two lists with a sixth-inning home run in the Royals’ 4-3 series-opening loss to the Yankees on Monday.
With the Royals down one run in the bottom of the sixth and needing a spark after a couple of missed opportunities loomed large, Perez jumped on a first-pitch sinker from Yankees starter Will Warren, scorching it a Statcast-projected 422 feet into the left-center-field seats.
It was a massive swing for Perez, whose ninth home run of the season was the Royals captain’s 136th at Kauffman Stadium, matching Hall of Famer George Brett for the most in the 54-year history of this ballpark.
It was also Perez’s 312th career home run – now just five shy of matching Brett for the all-time franchise record (317 home runs).
With those 312 career home runs now, Perez broke a tie with Rodríguez on two lists:
• Most home runs by a Latin American-born primary catcher (min. 50% games at catcher) in MLB history, more than Rodríguez (311), Jorge Posada (275), Javy Lopez (260) and Benito Santiago (217).
• Seventh-most home runs by a primary catcher in MLB history, with Perez now 12 homers away from matching Lance Parrish and Gary Carter for fifth-most home runs by a primary catcher. Mike Piazza’s 427 homers top that list.