KANSAS CITY – When Seattle starter Bryan Woo fell behind Vinnie Pasquantino in the fifth inning Sunday, the Mariners decided to intentionally walk him, putting him on first base to load the bases with two outs.
That brought up Salvador Perez, with the Mariners opting for the right-on-right matchup for Woo and the ability to have the forceout at all three bases. It’s been a slow start to the year for Perez, who was hitting .202 with a .601 OPS entering Sunday’s series finale against the Mariners. With runners in scoring position, he had been slashing .143/.227/.214. Before his at-bat in the fifth, he had been 0-for-14 with RISP dating back to May 6.
But this is Salvador Perez, the 15-year veteran the Royals have come to rely on so many times and for so long. Kansas City’s confidence hasn’t wavered in its captain.
Sure enough, he made the Mariners’ decision sting. Perez scorched a 108.9 mph grounder through the left side for a two-run single, the go-ahead hit in the Royals’ eventual 8-6 victory over the Mariners at Kauffman Stadium.
“We believe in him, and I know it’s been a hard start to the year for him offensively overall, but the guy can do it, man,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “He can come through in big moments. He’s getting on those fastballs. We’ve seen signs of it this week. To get those results today in big spots was really important, obviously, for us. And I’m sure he takes a little extra pride after the intentional walk. He’s been doing this for so long.”
“I always want moments like that,” Perez added after his three-hit, three-RBI day. “Been doing that from my first time in the big leagues. I just get excited. I try to help my team to win.”
Sunday marked the Royals’ first series win since May 8-10 vs. Detroit, snapping a three-series losing streak, and they’ve now won back-to-back games for the first time since that series against the Tigers (May 8-9). It was also their first rubber match win of the year, as they entered Sunday 0-4 in rubber games this season – the only team in the Majors without a win in that situation.
The Royals won this weekend on the strength of their rotation and their core hitters stepping up in clutch situations. If that sounds familiar, that’s because it should. That’s the way this Royals team has won the past few years and was built to again this year. It has just so rarely come together in 2026, leading to a 22-31 record.
But it did on Sunday, and perhaps it provides some momentum for the Royals to build upon with the Yankees coming to town next.
“That’s the way we are and who we are,” Perez said. “And just competing. If we play hard and everybody does the little things right, we’re going to win more games.”
Following Stephen Kolek’s shutout on Saturday, starter Seth Lugo tossed a quality start on Sunday with three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. Trouble in the seventh ended his day at 86 pitches.
“[I was] hoping to follow Kolek,” Lugo said. “Saw a [complete game] on the horizon and didn’t quite get there. But we hung on and got the series win, so that was good.”
Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, Michael Massey walked to lead off the inning, and Kyle Isbel laid down a gutsy bunt – after fouling off two bunt attempts – for a base hit. A Woo throwing error put runners on second and third with no outs.
But Maikel Garcia grounded out, and Bobby Witt Jr. hit a shallow flyout to put the scoring chance in peril. After Pasquantino’s intentional walk, Perez picked them up – and Carter Jensen followed with a double off the left-field wall to score two more runs.
Garcia got another opportunity in the eighth and came through with a two-run single. That proved to be crucial when Lucas Erceg allowed three runs, all with two outs, in the ninth inning before Perez executed an impressive and quick spin-and-throw play on Luke Raley’s dribbler in front of the plate to end the game.
“The Black Gato,” Perez said with a smile. “I think that was a really good play to end the game. I just tried to get it as quick as I can. Not like when I was 25 [years old], but trying to get it quick and throw the guy out.”
Perez might be 36 years old now. He might be on the tail end of a likely Hall of Fame career. But don’t count him out just yet.
“He’s been doing that for 15 years,” Garcia said. “It doesn’t surprise me. That’s why he’s the captain. He’s still catching at the best level, and we’re glad to have him here.”