CHICAGO -- Two hitters are pivotal in the Royals’ attempt to finally get their offense going for good.
One of them has become a franchise legend over a decorated 14-year career. The other just made his big league debut on Tuesday.
Both players have already dealt with their fair share of bad luck this season. But during Sunday’s series finale against the White Sox, each one of them showed what Kansas City’s lineup is capable of when both are swinging the bat well in the heart of the order.
Salvador Perez shook off a difficult day at the plate on Saturday by slugging a game-tying two-run home run in the fourth inning. Right behind him in the lineup, Jac Caglianone -- ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 10 prospect in baseball -- joined Bo Jackson (1986) as just the second player in Royals history to tally a four-hit outing within his first six big league games.
Together, the two helped wake up Kansas City’s scuffling offense in a 7-5 victory at Rate Field.
“I always say that the good thing about baseball is you’re going to have a lot of opportunities,” said Perez, whose homer helped him flush Saturday’s four-strikeout effort. “Today was a new day.”
It’s a mindset Kansas City’s catcher continues to carry with him into the clubhouse before every game, even if the power numbers he's put up this year are below his career averages.
The five-time Silver Slugger entered the series finale having hit just two homers in his past 180 at-bats. He was slugging just .344, despite the fact Statcast had his expected slugging percentage at .492. The only qualified hitter in the Major Leagues with a higher gap between actual and expected slug? Mets superstar Juan Soto.
While Statcast may be questioning some of Perez's numbers, there was zero doubt in the blast he slugged off Mike Vasil on Sunday. The White Sox starter knew his 0-1 sinker was a goner the second it left Perez’s bat at 109.9 mph. The homer marked Perez’s 30th game-tying blast of his career, breaking a tie with Alex Gordon for the second most in Royals history. Only George Brett (35) had more.
“We count on Salvy,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “He’s made a career out of this. He’s a Hall of Fame player who had a tough day yesterday. He knows how to bounce back from tough days.”
Added Perez: “I missed a lot of opportunities yesterday. That made me feel a little bad, because I’ve got Jac behind me. I just want to do him well. ... I can’t wait to see what that guy’s going to do in the big leagues.”
Caglianone continued providing his biggest tease of that yet in the ensuing at-bat, ripping a 113.6 mph double to the wall in right-center for his second hit of the day. He singled in the sixth, adding another in the eighth, both with exit velocities above 101 mph.
More on Jac Caglianone:
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• Caglianone's debut sparks Royals
• What to expect from Cags in MLB
• Pipeline Podcast checks in with Cags
• Highlights | Rankings: Top 100 | 1B | KC
It’s the kind of loud contact Caglianone has been providing throughout his first week in the bigs. The only problem was that, until Sunday, many of those batted balls went right to the gloves of opposing fielders. Entering the day, nine of Caglianone’s batted balls from the past week qualified as hard-hit. Every one of them was an out.
Come Sunday, though, his luck finally started to turn.
“It felt really good,” said Caglianone, who raised his batting average from .095 to .240. “It was a huge thanks to all the guys out here in the locker room. They were very supportive through it all, hitting balls hard and not really much to show for it. Thankfully they found some grass today.”
Caglianone’s hitting barrage, combined with the boost from Perez’s homer, helped spark a Royals offense that had been dormant through the bulk of the Chicago series. After scoring a combined three runs through the first two games, Kansas City put up five more in the late innings after Perez’s homer, capped off by Bobby Witt Jr.’s two-run shot in the ninth.
Though the White Sox attempted to undo those efforts with a ninth-inning rally, the Royals were able to hang on, thanks in part to a diving catch from Witt.
The victory ensured a happy flight back to Kansas City, where Caglianone is set to make his much-anticipated home debut at Kauffman Stadium against the Yankees on Tuesday. Count Perez as one of the many already intrigued about what the rookie might do in front of his home fans.
“I’m more excited for the first home run,” Perez said. “I want to see where that ball is going to go.”
Does he think Caglianone will end up hitting one into the fountains?
“100%.”