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 Perez had a career-high five hits in leading the Royals to a 10-4
win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night at soggy Target Field.
Perez finished a home run short of the cycle. He had a chance to
achieve the feat with an at-bat in the ninth inning, but he settled
for a sharp single to left.
"I think about it a little bit," Perez said. "I tried to put the
ball in play, not try to think about the homer. If it happened, it
happened."
Perez also scored two runs and knocked in another as the Royals
improved to 4-0 against the Twins this season. The five-hit game was
the first by a Royal since Billy Butler had one on Sept. 5, 2013.
Perez improved his career average at Target Field to .367 with nine
homers and 25 RBIs in 39 games.
"He just really does a good job in this park," Royals manager Ned
Yost said. "His slugging percentage numbers are astronomical in this
place."
 Paulo Orlando added three hits for Kansas City, and Whit Merrifield
and Lorenzo Cain each had two of the Royals' 17 hits.
Omar Infante drove in three runs, and Jarrod Dyson and Orlando had
two RBIs apiece.
Trevor Plouffe and Joe Mauer each had three hits for Minnesota,
which lost for the seventh time in eight games and fell to 11-33,
the worst record in the major leagues.
Kansas City (23-21) scored at least one run in each of the first
four innings to build an early 8-2 lead.
Royals reliever Peter Moylan (1-0) got the win after giving up one
run in 2 1/3 innings.
Royals starter Ian Kennedy got four outs following the 41-minute
rain delay with the Twins batting in the bottom of the third but was
lifted after 3 1/3 innings and 73 pitches. Kennedy allowed two runs
on five hits and a walk while striking out three.
"I was just trying to get an inning or two if I could, maybe even
push it to the fifth inning," Yost said. "But after the rain delay,
he went out and again, he just wasn't exceptionally sharp."
Kennedy said it was the first time in his career he was able to
withstand a long delay to continue pitching.
"(I) went back out there, I felt good, then we had another long
inning and I was like, 'Hey, if this inning goes any longer, you're
going to have to warm someone else up,'" Kennedy said.
Cain's RBI double scored Alcides Escobar in the top of the first
inning for an early 1-0 lead.
Minnesota rallied for a pair in the bottom of the inning, getting a
solo homer to left by Mauer and an RBI single by Robbie Grossman.
"We've talked about the offense scuffling, but we did get some good
at-bats," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Joe had good night,
Grossman continues to play well. But we dug ourselves a hole."
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However, Minnesota starter Ricky Nolasco could never navigate a
clean inning, surrendering a sacrifice fly to Infante in the second
that scored Perez before things got messy in the third.
Singles by Merrifield and Eric Hosmer and a walk by Kendrys Morales
loaded the bases with one out for Perez, who ripped a single to
left, scoring one.
Orlando's sacrifice fly to right scored Hosmer from third before
Infante drew a walk to again load the bases. Dyson followed with a
two-run single to right, ending Nolasco's night.
Nolasco (1-3) allowed six runs on eight hits in 2 2/3 innings.
"Command was off, I've been all over the place," Nolasco said. "Just
not executing. I felt good, arm feels good, that's all you can ask
for. I'll just do it again in five days."
Morales and Orlando each singled in a run off Twins reliever Trevor
May in the fourth inning after the delay to build an 8-2 advantage.
Infante added a two-run double in the ninth off Kevin Jepsen.
NOTES: Royals OF Alex Gordon was placed on the 15-day disabled list
with a broken bone in his right wrist. Gordon, who is hitting .211
with four homers and 10 RBIs in 42 games, is expected to miss 3-4
weeks. ... Royals 3B Mike Moustakas is day-to-day with a knee
contusion. ... Royals 3B Cheslor Cuthbert was recalled from Triple-A
Omaha. Cuthbert hit .255 with a homer and three RBIs in 13 games
with the big league club this season. ... Twins SS Eduardo Escobar
was activated off the 15-day disabled list. Escobar missed 14 games
with a left groin strain he sustained in a game on May 6. Escobar
hit .364 in three rehab games with Class A Fort Myers over the
weekend. ... Twins INF Jorge Polanco was optioned to Triple-A
Rochester to make room on the roster for Escobar. Polanco has a .231
average in 26 at-bats over 13 games for the Twins this season. ...
Kansas City and Minnesota will play the second game of a three-game
series at Target Field on Tuesday night. The Royals will send RHP
Edinson Volquez (4-4, 3.79 ERA) to the mound against Twins RHP Ervin
Santana (1-2, 3.13 ERA).
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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