Salvadore Perez, Mike Moustakas Star For KC In 9-6 Win; Alex Wood 10-0 After 1-0 Win Over Arizona

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 5, 2017

American League

Perez: 11th-inning HR

Winning for the fourth straight time with a 9-6 win at Seattle in 11 innings, the Kansas City Royals have come all the way from last place in May to a half game out of first in the AL Central five days into July.

Salvadore Perez socked a two-run homer and Alex Gordon knocked in Mike Moustakas with the final run in the top of the 11th.

The Mariners couldn't muster a hit off Kelvin Herrera in the bottom of the frame, the KC closer picking up his 19th save.

Moustakas: 25 HR

Perez's home run was his 17th, the two RBI giving him 55, Moustakas had homered in the first inning with one aboard. He also singled twice, including his key hit in the 11th, going 3-for-5 for the game. His homer was his 25th, tying him with Houston's George Springer for second in the long ball category. He has 54 RBI.

San Diego dumped Cleveland, 6-2. The Indians lead the division by 1/2 game over Kansas City. Minnesota is just 1 1/2 back.

Following the three-game sweep of the Mariners, the Royals head south for a tough three-game meeting with the Dodgers, heading into the all-star break. Game one of the series is Friday at 7:10 pm PT.

National League

LA's Alex Wood continues to amaze, winning his 10th straight game without a loss this season in a 1-0 Dodger triumph over Arizona.

Alex Wood is 10-0

Wood worked seven complete innings, allowing three hits and a pair of walks, striking out 10. He threw just 85 pitches, 61 for strikes.

The Diamondbacks and Dodgers each totaled just four hits each, but LA managed to put two of those together for the game's only run when Chris Taylor singled and Yasmani Grandal doubled him home in the second inning.

Wood's first half odyssey began in the Dodger bullpen, when he threw two hitless innings against San Diego April 5th, but received no decision. His first win came in relief on April 15, when he held Arizona hitless for 3 1/3 innings.

After that, he was inserted into the rotation, but didn't get another win until May 2nd, in a 13-5 win over the Giants. That began a string of nine wins in his next ten starts, including Wednesday's seven inning gem which dropped his ERA to a stunning 1.67. Wood has only tossed 80 2/3 innings, but he's allowed a mere 50 hits, walking 22 while fanning 97.

LA's win was the second straight in the three-game series with visiting Arizona, boosting the Dodger lead in the NL West to 4 1/2 games over the Diamondbacks. LA will be looking for the sweep when the teams take the field at Dodger Stadium Thursday at 7:10 pm PT.

Salvador Perez Grand Slam Propels Royals Past Red Sox; Brandon Drury's 6 RBI Lead Arizona's 16-5 Romp At Colorado

Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 21, 2017

American League

Perez: Grand Slam

Boston's hold on first place in the AL East didn't last very long. In fact, it was just one day.

When the Red Sox topped Kansas City, 8-3, on Tuesday, the Yankees were losing their seventh straight, in an 8-3 loss to the Angels. That put Boston in first place by 1/2 game. Wednesday night's results were the opposite, with the Yankees ending their skein with an 8-4 win over LA, while Boston was losing to the Royals, 6-4, giving the Yankees a 12 game edge.

What turned out to be the biggest issue for the Red Sox in their road loss to KC was the inability to successfully retire Royals' catcher Salvador Perez.

Perez was 3-for-3, but really didn't do much damage until the eighth inning. In the second, he singled, moving Eric Hosmer to third, but was thrown out at second base on a double play as Hosmer scored. Perez walked and was left stranded at first in the fourth inning, and singled again in the seventh, eventually advancing to third, but the Royals ended the inning with the bases loaded, failing to cut into a 4-2 Boston lead.

After three consecutive walks to open the bottom of the eighth, Perez came to the plate with the bases full. Perez made a huge impact, launching his 15th home run of the season, a 412-foot left field grand slam that put the Royals ahead for good, 6-4.

The leading vote-getter at catcher in the American League all star balloting, Perez will likely be the starter. He has more than a 400,000 vote lead over Houston's Brian McCann and the Yankees' Gary Sanchez and will be making his fifth straight all star appearance when the two leagues meet July 11 at Marlins Park in Miami.

Kansas City's win kept them in third place, 3 1/2 behind the Indians in the AL Central. Minnesota is second, 1 1/2 back. The Royals took the series, two games to one. Since their 10-20 start, the Royals have gone 25-16 and will have a chance to reach .500 when they host Toronto Friday at 8:15 pm ET in the opener of a three game series.

Boston heads home for a seven game home stand, beginning Friday against the Angels.

National League

Drury: 4-for-6, 6 RBI

The Dodgers won their sixth straight game to take over first place in the torrid NL West as Arizona did the LA boys a favor, ending Colorado's six-game win streak in a 16-5 rout.

Coupled with LA's 8-2 win over the Mets, LA has a 1/2 game lead over Colorado. Arizona is 1 1/2 back.

What made the difference for the Diamondbacks in the second game of the three-game series in Denver was, significantly, Colorado's pitching. Arizona hammered four Rockies' hurlers for 20 hits, a relentless attack spearheaded by second baseman Brandon Drury who was 4-for-6 and drove in six runs.

After Mark Reynolds gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead in the second, the Diamondbacks responded, putting up a 10-spot in the fourth inning. Drury got the scoring started with a two-run double and ended the inning's tally with an RBI single. 14 players went to the plate in the frame, which included nine hits (three doubles) and a pair of walks.

Drury was far from done. however, singling home a run in the sixth and two more in the ninth.

In his third year with Arizona, Drury is on pace for a solid season, batting .304 with eight homers and 36 RBI.

Arizona and Colorado meet in the rubber game of the three-game series, Thursday, 3:10 pm ET. Later, the Dodgers will be going for a sweep of the Mets in their four-game series. Game time is 10:10 pm ET.

Salvador Perez Helps Royals Take Commanding 3-1 Edge in World Series

Perez: 3-4, RBI, R

Players of the Day for Saturday, October 31, 2015

World Series

Rallying in the eighth inning en route to a 5-3 victory, the Kansas City Royals took World Series game four to establish a lead of three games to one.

The Mets' relief staff failed to contain the aggressive Kansas City batters, and Daniel Murphy's critical error sparked a three-run rally in the eighth

Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia fell apart in the crucial inning, as the Mets surrendered a one-run lead. Clippard retired just one batter, walking two, before turning the ball over to Familia who gave up two hits and was on the mound when second baseman Murphy muffed a routine grounder off the bat of Eric Hosmer, sending Ben Zobrist home from second with the tying run.

Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez followed with RBI singles. Perez, who was 3-for-4 with a double and two singles, scored the Royals first run in the fifth inning.

Kansas City will look to close out the series on Sunday at Citi Field. Game time is 8:15 pm ET.

Shane Green Gives Tigers Three hitless Innings in Win over Braves; Salvador Perez Homers as Royals Improve to 10-1

Players of the Day for Friday, March 13, 2015

Grapefruit League

Greene: Perfect

The Detroit Tigers are gearing up for another run at the AL Central title, which they won last season by a game over Kansas City, and who is likely to be their main rival in the division for 2015 (see below).

Detorit bats rang out 13 hits in a 12-2 victory over 3-7 Atlanta Friday, but the best story came from the mound, where Shane Greene blanked the Braves over the first three innings, fanning two without allowing a hit or a walk.

In his second start of the Spring season, Green improved dramatically, after allowing six hits and three runs in two innings in his first appearance.

The Tigers acquired Green from the Yankees in the off-season. Pressed into duty when the Yankee staff was besieged with injuries last year, Greene went 5-4 with a 3.78 ERA in 14 starts. He's expected to make the Tigers' opening day rotation as the fifth starter after David Price, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, and Alfredo Simon.

Cactus League

Perez Shows Power

It's beginning to sound like a broken record, but the Kansas City Royals are the hottest story coming out of Spring Training in Arizona.

KC improved to 10-1 in the Cactus League, dispatching one of their nearest rivals, the 7-4 Oakland A's, by an 8-4 score.

Salvador Perez was behind the plate once again, as he will be most of the 2015 season, but what he did while standing aside it in the batter's box was significant. After the A's had taken a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, Perez responded with a three-run homer after Eric Hosmer had already singled in a run. The Royals added single runs in the second and fifth innings, and added a pair in the sixth. Knasas City's bullpen blanked the A's from the fourth inning onward.

Perez singled in his only other at-bat, finishing 2-for-2 on the day.

Kansas City holds a three-game edge over the Dodgers (5-2) and A's in Cactus League standings.

Mark Reynolds Launches Three-run Homer in Cards' Win over O's; Paolo Orlando, Salvador Perez Pace 9-1 Royals

Players of the Day for Thursday, March 12, 2015

Mark Reynolds

Grapefruit League

Mark Reynolds clubbed a third-inning three-run homer off Orioles' starter Bud Norris, leading to the Cardinals' fifth win against three losses this Spring, an 8-2 home win over 3-8 Baltimore.

Reynolds adds some pop to the St. Louis lineup, but will likely be a backup to Matt Adams at first base and used as a pinch-hitter.

After eight years in the majors, Reynolds is a known quantity, a player who can provide power, but also one which does not hit well for average and strikes out often.

Perez: 3-3

Reynolds spent two years in Baltimore (2011-12), where he tallied 60 homers and 155 RBI. He played in 130 games with the Brewers last season, belting 22 homers but also fanning 122 times.

Orlando: 3 RBI

The shot was Reynolds' first of the training season and was his only at-bat of the game.

Cactus League

Kansas City has been absolutely tearing it up in Arizona, improving to 9-1 after doubling up the Indians, 10-5, on Thursday.

Salvador Perez went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a solo homer. Outfielder Paulo Orlando singled, tripled and drove in three runs as the Royals erased an early 3-0 deficit en route to the win.

While Perez will be the starting catcher for the Royals this season, Orlando has spent nine years in the minors but may get a few call-ups, as he is a reliable replacement. Last year at Omaha (AAA), Orlando batted .301 and drove in 63 runs.

An anchor for the pitching staff, Perez played in 138 games in 2013 and 150 last season.