SEATTLE -- For the second straight game at T-Mobile Park, the Royals put Carter Jensen behind the plate, with Salvador Perez slotting in the lineup as the designated hitter.
“Just making sure that his legs feel good,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said pregame of Perez, who has dealt with hip discomfort early in the season.
The 35-year-old’s legs certainly looked like they felt good in the fourth inning of a 4-1 win over the Mariners that turned Kansas City’s first road series win of the year into a sweep.
With two runs in and an out on the board, Isaac Collins lofted a fly ball 287 feet out to center field, where Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez -- who’s ranked in the 90th percentile or higher for arm strength every season since his debut -- camped under it. On third stood Perez, whose average sprint speed of 24.2 mph ranks 375th out of 381 qualified players, per Baseball Savant.
The five-time Gold Glove-winning backstop, whose last stolen base came in 2021, didn’t even hesitate.
Rodríguez’s throw came out of his hand at 93.6 mph, but skipped three times in the infield before it got to Jhonny Pereda at the plate. That gave Perez a bit of a window, and the Royals captain took advantage, diving for the back corner of the dish and getting the tip of his finger in, just in time.
Home plate umpire Clint Vondrak originally called Perez out, but Perez immediately made his case to the dugout to challenge, and Quatraro quickly obliged. It didn’t take long for the replay to come back the Royals’ way, making Kansas City 10-1 on the season on challenges.
It was reminiscent of the Royals’ road trip to Seattle last July, when Bobby Witt Jr. capped a decisive three-run inning in the finale with a highlight-reel escape act of a slide, diving around a tag attempt from Cal Raleigh.
The three runs the Royals manufactured in the fourth were plenty for Kris Bubic, who made it through seven innings for the second time this season. The left-hander finished with seven strikeouts and one run allowed on four hits and two walks.