Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez hit his 20th home run of the season in Sunday’s 10-4 win over the Boston Red Sox, becoming the first player in Royals history to record multiple 20-homer seasons while primarily playing behind the plate, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Perez’s milestone blast came in the second inning of Sunday’s game, with the 26-year-old backstop taking Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez over the Green Monster to give the Royals an early 1-0 lead.
Although the lead widened to 2-0 by the end of the frame, the Red Sox bounced back with four runs between the fourth and fifth innings before an eight-run sixth inning by the Royals eventually quieted them.
Perez also contributed to the massive inning, drawing a walk to load the bases with nobody out while the Royals were still trailing by two runs.
Already one of the top catchers in franchise history, Perez is on pace to best last season’s career-high mark of 21 home runs, though his 58 RBI still leave him 21 short of his career-best total (79 in 2013) in that category.
The added power has come with a bit of a trade-off, as Perez already has a career-high 101 strikeouts, shedding his reputation as a low-strikeout, low-walk batter who mostly puts the ball in play.
The end result has been just fine, with Perez’s current .759 OPS representing the best mark he’s recorded in a full season.
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