Having a blast! The Royals sweep away the Pirates

Three more home runs power the Royals to another win.

Are the Royals now a home run-hitting team? Don’t laugh. The question needs to be asked after Kansas City swept the Pirates in a three-game series in which they bashed nine home runs.

Three of those dingers came on Wednesday. Salvador Perez launched two. Jac Caglianone incinerated another. That was all the offense the Royals required as Perez’s were both solo numbers and Caglianone’s came with a runner on base. Perez’s home run in the eighth was the final margin in a 4-3 victory.

Again, that was nine home runs for the Royals in their three-game series against the Pirates. Recall, as I wrote yesterday, that coming into this homestand, the Royals had managed to hit just 15 home runs at The K this season. They now have 24. A 60 percent increase. That’s absurd that they can move the needle that much in July, with half the season over.

Fountains up, indeed.

Yes, Salvy hit two, but let’s start with Caglianone’s home run. It was the most impressive of the bunch.

He utterly destroyed the baseball. What he did should be illegal, but it’s so damn fun.

That is a first-pitch sinker that was, capital P, Punished. Caglianone hit it at 111 mph off the bat. It landed over the batter’s eye in center. Over! The official distance…an eye-watering 466 feet. That’s the fourth-farthest hit baseball by a Royals batter at The K in the Statcast Era.

Brandon Moss - 474 feet
Kendrys Morales - 469 feet
Bobby Witt Jr. - 468 feet
Jac Caglianone - 466 feet

It was my first time seeing a Jac Blast live and in person. My friends, the sound that was created when the bat met the ball…My god, the sound. I don’t believe I’ve heard something that crisp, that sharp, at a ballpark before.

I’ll note that this came against a left-handed pitcher. In fact, now three of his four home runs have come off southpaws. That is came with Maikel Garcia on base, who led off the inning with a double, is important.

Equally important is this visualization of the home run from Statcast.

Everything about this was impressive. Everything.

Plus, a new home run celebration just dropped.

He can stay. Alright? The kid can stay.

I know the early-season Statcast metrics said not to sleep on Perez. Even though he got off to a slow start, he was still hitting the ball hard. There was just some bad luck involved. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if we were seeing the beginning of Perez’s twilight years. Age, as you know, is undefeated.

Yet since the start of June, Perez is hitting .271/.314/.504 with seven home runs and nine doubles. That was prior to Wednesday’s game. Then, he did this to a baseball in the second inning:

That baseball left his bat at 110 mph and travelled 444 feet. It bounced off the top of the Sonic sign just to the left of the batter’s eye and ricocheted into the upper tier of the fountain. That part of the fountain is original to the stadium. You don’t see on land there often, on a bounce or otherwise. (Witt’s home run I listed above did.)

It was smoked.

Then, in the eighth inning, with the game knotted at three, Perez untied it with one swing.

Given the location of the slider, and the way Perez took it to the right side of center field, maybe makes this home run even more impressive than the first. And I was plenty impressed by the first. I dunno…It’s too difficult to call. Let’s just love them all equally.

For you math nerds out there, that’s 870 feet of mayhem in just two swings.

It was the 19th multi-home run game in Perez’s career, which extends his franchise record. And here’s a fun little Salvy fact: He’s hit 11 dingers in his last 42 games, after hitting just two home runs in his first 47 games this year.

Worry about Perez? Me? Never.

Entering Wednesday, the Royals had allowed 20 stolen bases all season. That’s the best in the league. By far.

How far? Here are the four stingiest teams at allowing theft on the bases:

Brewers - 46
Tigers - 45
Mets - 40
Royals - 20

This is just a mind-blowing statistic that I mention because Freddy Fermin gunned down Oneil Cruz trying to swipe third base in the second inning. Cruz is leading the NL with 28 steals in 31 attempts. Until that moment, he was a perfect 4-4 when trying to steal third.

It was perfection.

Also, a tip of the hat needs to go to Perez for a couple of nice plays at first base, including one in the seventh when he fielded a slow roller off the bat of Andrew McCutchen in kind of a no-man’s land. John Schreiber wasn’t going to get to the bag fast enough so it was up to Perez who picked up the ball with his bare hand and dove to the bag. For a guy who spent his entire career behind the plate, he’s a surprisingly good defensive first baseman.

There was reason to be concerned about Kris Bubic early on Wednesday. Just a handful of pitches into the game, Bryan Reynolds lined a comebacker at 106 mph that made solid contact with Bubic’s right shin. The ball caromed all the way to the first base line where Perez picked it up to tag out Reynolds, but still…ouch. And yikes.

After a brief visit from Matt Quatraro and the trainer, and following a couple of test pitches, Bubic was back at it. He finished off the first inning in just six pitches.

Would his leg stiffen up in between innings? I was imagining some sort of welt on his shin the size of a golf ball. Yet there Bubic was, back out on the mound for the second. He got into a spot of trouble in the third, walking leadoff man Jared Triolo and falling behind to the next batter, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 2-0. Yet he got settled and after allowing a single to Tommy Pham, he struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning.

The four-seamer looked especially effective for the left-hander, showcasing that usual rising illusion. These were the locations for his fastball:

It’s an interesting array. Called strikes on the outer half. Contact for outs on the inner half. A couple of swings and misses when the pitch was elevated in the zone. And a handful of foul balls where Pirate batters were under the pitch.

He ran into big trouble in the sixth. I don’t know if it was his shin, the pitch count (which wasn’t all that high, he was at 61 pitches to start the inning), or the third time through the order penalty, but the Pirates strung together three runs on three singles and a walk. He couldn’t get out of the inning, but it was ultimately good to see him battle as far as he did.

From there, the bullpen was nails. Schreiber got the final out of the sixth without further damage and then pitched a solid seventh. Lucas Erceg had the eighth and pitched a clean inning, something that hasn’t been happening since he returned from the IL. And Carlos Estévez polished the game off in the ninth for his 25th save and a series sweep of the Pirates.

All in all, it was a delightful night at the yard.

Well, here’s something nobody probably saw coming. The Royals announced on Wednesday that they signed starting pitcher, and former Cy Young award winner, Dallas Keuchel to a minor league deal. According to Jeff Passan, Keuchel held a workout for teams last week and hit 92 mph on his four-seamer.

Color me skeptical. Keuchel has thrown 115 major league innings since the start of the 2022 season, for five different teams. In that time, he’s posted a 7.59 ERA, good for an ERA+ of 55.

He will report to the Royals complex in Surprise before heading to Triple-A to throw for the Storm Chasers.

Was your first thought when hearing this news, there’s your replacement for Seth Lugo after the trade deadline? It’s either Keuchel or Rich Hill.

I kid, I kid…I think.

The other roster move I failed to comment on earlier this week was the promotion of Cam Devanney from Triple-A Omaha. Devanney has hit .272/.366/.565 in 288 plate appearances for the Storm Chasers, good for a 137 wRC+. He’s mostly played at shortstop but has seen time at second, third and left.

Devanney is up because Mark Canha is on the IL with what the Royals are saying is a “left elbow injury.” It sounds like it’s tennis elbow.

The final move, to make room for Devanney on the 40-man roster, was that Cole Ragans was transferred over to the 60-day IL. Ragans has been sidelined since June 8 wit ha left rotator cuff strain, so this move means the earliest we would see Ragans back in Kansas City would be late August or early September. Factoring in minor league rehab starts and such. He began throwing earlier this week.

Central Issues

Rays 7, Tigers 3

Tampa tallied four runs inthe sixth, all of them coming with two out, to race past Detroit and avoid the sweep. Junior Caminero, named to the Home Run Derby earlier in the day, added a solo home run to cap the scoring in the seventh.

Cubs 2, Twins 4

Byron Buxton was hit in the hand leading off the bottom of the first, swiped second and scored on a Ryan Jeffers single. He then exited with a hand contusion. Meanwhile, Royce Lewis stole home as part of an attempted double steal and the Twins have won the first two games of their series against the Cubs.

Guardians 4, Astros 2

Angel Martínez and José Ramírez did some back-to-back yardwork in the top of the first to stake Cleveland to an early lead. Slade Cecconi made it stand up by twirling seven shutout innings, striking out nine. He was tagged for two runs in the eighth for the final scoreline. The Guardians, after losing 10 in a row, swept the Astros.

Blue Jays 1, White Sox 2

Edgar Quero doubled in a run and Lenyn Sosa singled one home as that was all the White Sox required to stop the Jays 10-game winning streak. Adrian Houser went seven innings for the third consecutive start, posting a 0.42 ERA in that span. He also vomited in the first inning. Clearly, not a statement on how he’s been pitching of late.

Still looking a bit grim for the boys, but if the top half of the offense carries on the way they have the last several games, we can at least have some fun in the second half.