Salvador

Perez

Pasquantino is headed for some extra time off to rest and recover after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Twins with right hand soreness. The big cause for concern here is that the 28-year-old suffered a hamate fracture on that exact hand last month. He’ll presumably undergo imaging to rule out any structural issues. There should be some clarity on his status at some point in the coming days. It’ll probably wind up being Salvador Perez taking over at first base in his absence.

Pasquantino receives some extra time off to rest and recover following an early exit from Tuesday’s game with right hand soreness. The 28-year-old suffered a hamate fracture on that exact hand last month. It doesn’t sound like a trip to the injured list is on the table, but that could change in the next few days. It’ll be veteran Salvador Perez taking over at first base in his absence.

Perez moved past Royals icon George Brett for sole possession of first place as Kansas City’s all-time home run leader with a seventh-inning solo shot to left field against Tigers reliever Kyle Finnegan. It was the 318th round-tripper of his remarkable career. The 36-year-old ironman has gone deep four times in nine contests since the Midsummer Classic. His days as a mixed-league relevant fantasy backstop are probably finished at this advanced stage of his career, but he remains a decent power source at the position in deeper leagues.

Vinnie Pasquantino doubled to start the seventh, but it looked like he fell off the bag with the tag applied after an awkward slide into the second. The Giants, though, didn’t get the call, and Perez homered immediately afterwards to knock Landen Roupp out of the game. It was his 317th homer, trying him with George Brett for first place in Royals franchise history. Of course, both Perez and Brett hit all their homers for Kansas City. They’re tied with Adrián González for 142nd place on the all-time MLB list.

Perez’ home run was his 13th of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Trevor McDonald in the fourth inning. Perez now has two home runs and four RBI over his last three games. He’s hitting .213 with a .617 OPS and 41 RBI this year.

Perez’ home run was just his 12th of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Matt Waldron in the sixth inning. Perez has a career .190 ISO and hit 57 home runs combined over the previous two seasons, but has just a .140 ISO this year. He’s hitting .211 with a .604 OPS. It’s fair to wonder if Perez will bounce back or if he’s in decline at age-36.

Perez hit the ball hard all four times up today, with his lone out traveling 391 feet to center. Obviously, most of the Royals had a fun day in the 15-1 victory, but Perez really needed it; at .202, his average was in danger of falling back under .200. The homer was his first since June 18 and 11th overall.

The 36-year-old slugger missed each of the team’s previous three games due to soreness in his right elbow. He’s back in there as the designated hitter on Sunday though, batting sixth against Phillies’ right-hander Aaron Nola. Perez owns a disappointing .201/.241/.327 slash line on the season with 10 long balls and 30 RBI in his 340 plate appearances.

Perez will miss another game due to soreness in his right elbow, or at least won’t draw the start. He’ll recover from the bench with Starling Marte the designated hitter and Carter Jensen behind the plate against Jesús Luzardo and the Philadelphia staff.

It doesn’t sound like anything serious, but the Royals did add Luke Maile to the roster on Thursday as an insurance policy. Perez is having a disappointing season at the dish, slashing just .201/.241/.327 with 10 homers and 30 RBI in 340 plate appearances. Carter Jensen is behind the dish and batting leadoff for the Royals while Starling Marte functions as the team’s designated hitter against Rays’ left-hander Ian Seymour on Thursday night at Kauffman Stadium.