With emphatic sequence win vs. the Guardians, Salvador Perez and the Royals made it clear they need again in October

CLEVELAND — The stakes had been apparent.

Having been briefly humbled in a weekend sequence loss at residence to Philadelphia that included blowout defeats Saturday and Sunday, the Kansas Metropolis Royals sat three video games again of the first-place Cleveland Guardians as they hopped on a aircraft to northeast Ohio on Sunday. A rainout in June meant 4 video games awaited them at Progressive Discipline.

The stage was set for both workforce to make a critical assertion: Cleveland may give itself some much-needed respiration room atop the AL Central, or Kansas Metropolis may leapfrog the Guardians completely. So far as a sequence in August goes, it was about as juicy because it will get.

Recreation 1 appeared to favor the Royals on paper, with ace lefty Cole Ragans pitted in opposition to a bullpen recreation for Cleveland began by side-winding reliever Nick Sandlin. However from the primary pitch, Ragans hardly seemed like his All-Star self, with fluctuating velocity and shoddy command limiting his effectiveness and effectivity. After a leadoff stroll to open the fifth inning, Ragans departed with a leg cramp, ending his day after simply 4 innings, his second-shortest outing of the season.

Although the damage wasn’t considered critical, Ragans’ early exit appeared to stage the pitching taking part in area because the carousel of relievers started to spin. And with a minimal of 11 innings left to play in Monday’s doubleheader, the sport was nonetheless tied heading to the eighth. Then got here the most recent heroics from Kansas Metropolis’s MVP candidate, Bobby Witt Jr. Going through Hunter Gaddis, who had a 1.51 ERA in 59 2/3 innings when he took the mound, the 24-year-old shortstop cranked an 0-1 slider into the left-field bleachers for a solo, go-ahead homer. Proper-hander Lucas Erceg, who has been almost flawless since Kansas Metropolis acquired him from Oakland on the commerce deadline, nailed down the save in opposition to the highest of the Guardians’ lineup to secure the series opener for the Royals.

The nightcap featured two beginning pitchers who’ve been in Triple-A lately for very completely different causes. Lefty Logan Allen was within the Guardians’ rotation for a lot of the primary half however was demoted final month after his ERA ballooned to five.56. On the opposite facet, Royals right-hander Alec Marsh had acquitted himself fairly nicely as Kansas Metropolis’s No. 5 starter however misplaced his rotation spot when the Royals traded for veteran Michael Lorenzen. After permitting three runs within the opening body, Marsh stored Cleveland in examine lengthy sufficient to permit Kansas Metropolis’s offense to blow up within the center innings for a 9-4 victory headlined by two residence runs from Salvador Perez, together with a grand slam.

“Salvy Perez simply doesn’t appear to know what getting outdated means,” Guardians skipper Stephen Vogt stated half-jokingly earlier than the sequence.

But in some respects, Perez has begun to acknowledge the realities of being a 34-year-old catcher who is anticipated to hold a heavy load offensively. After catching the primary recreation of the doubleheader within the sweltering afternoon warmth, Perez admitted postgame that he was blissful to maintain the gear off for Recreation 2 and keep within the lineup because the DH.

“He is outstanding,” Royals supervisor Matt Quatraro stated postgame. “To catch that first recreation … he was drained. You might inform, he was drained bodily, mentally … to go on the market and focus and put these at-bats up like he did was outstanding.”

A youthful Perez might need insisted on catching all 18 innings, however he now acknowledges the significance of doing no matter is important to maintain his bat within the lineup. He began 120 video games behind the dish as lately as 2021, however Perez’s workload has regularly decreased over the previous three years, with markedly extra begins coming at first base and DH.

Additional aiding Perez’s willingness to cede backstop tasks has been the emergence of Freddy Fermin as greater than only a succesful backup. Not solely is Fermin rock-solid defensively, however he has quietly been one among Kansas Metropolis’s most dependable bats as nicely; solely Yainer Diaz has the next batting common than Fermin (.290) amongst catchers the previous two seasons, and Fermin’s 109 wRC+ ranks 11th among catchers in 2024. Perez alone makes Kansas Metropolis’s catching scenario the envy of most organizations, however Fermin has made it a positional power that only a few groups can match.

For Cleveland, shedding twice Monday was the most recent in a weird development of faltering in doubleheaders in recent times. The Guardians are 0-8 in doubleheader video games this season and 1-17 in such video games relationship to the beginning of final season — the worst stretch by any workforce in a span of 18 doubleheader video games in more than 50 years.

And so, unusual struggles in twin payments apart, it was on the Guardians to bounce again Tuesday — however they failed to take action. As soon as once more, Kansas Metropolis’s starter needed to depart early, as Lorenzen left attributable to a hamstring pressure within the second inning, seemingly opening the window for Cleveland to leap on one other sudden parade of bullpen arms. As an alternative, 5 Royals relievers — none named Erceg — mixed to permit only one run on two hits over the remainder of the contest, sealing a sequence victory for Kansas Metropolis and a tie atop the AL Central.

That arrange a series finale Wednesday afternoon with sole possession of first place on the road, and this time, Cleveland lastly responded. Three solo homers off Tanner Bibee put the Guardians in a gap early, one they appeared unlikely to climb out of primarily based on the uninspiring state of the offense in current days. Via six frames, Cleveland trailed 5-2 with a Royals bullpen wanting to slam the door following one other stable outing from veteran righty Michael Wacha.

As an alternative, a Bo Naylor homer followed by a series of dinks and dunks fueled a four-run seventh inning that helped the Guardians retake the lead and reenergize a house crowd that had been given little to cheer about all week. Cleveland tacked on an insurance coverage run within the eighth earlier than Emmanuel Clase swiftly transformed his AL-leading thirty ninth save of the season to salvage the ultimate recreation for the Guardians and reclaim their position atop the division — for now, anyway.

Whereas the Guardians managed to stave off the worst-case state of affairs for this four-game set, this week’s sequence was a daring reminder of how far this Royals workforce has come — and the way shortly, particularly in distinction to Cleveland’s organizational trajectory. Since they gained the World Collection in 2015, no workforce in baseball has lost more regular-season games than the Royals. Over that very same span, solely three groups (Dodgers, Yankees, Astros) have gained extra regular-season video games than the Guardians.

Because the Royals descended into mediocrity after which a lot worse following back-to-back pennants, Cleveland emerged because the standard-bearer within the AL Central, reaching the postseason in 5 of the following seven seasons. Kansas Metropolis, in the meantime, has not been again to October because it hoisted the commissioner’s trophy in 2015. As such, we’ve grown used to relying on Cleveland as an annual menace to contend disregarding Kansas Metropolis till it proves in any other case.

However the tone had shifted, at the least considerably, coming into 2024. Minnesota — nonetheless lurking shut behind on this yr’s race — had cruised to a division title in 2023. Cleveland’s 76 wins marked its worst end since 2012. Though Kansas Metropolis was coming off a franchise-record 106 losses, the Royals performed nicely final September after which spent important cash in free company in an effort to fast-track a return to relevance. No AL Central workforce projected to be particularly menacing, however the Royals appeared to have extra constructive momentum, with their veteran additions becoming a member of a budding ace in Ragans and a younger star in Witt whose ceiling was undefined in one of the best ways potential. Nonetheless, it appeared like a stretch to think about Kansas Metropolis a viable candidate to push for a postseason spot, even in what was anticipated to be a weak division.

As an alternative, the AL Central turned out to be an absolute gauntlet. Cleveland surged out of the gate, amassing one among baseball’s finest data by means of June and the sort of division lead we’ve grown accustomed to seeing the Guardians construct. The reigning champion Twins have been as regular as ever, with a successful file each month of the season. The Tigers have the perfect file within the American League for the reason that begin of July. All of the whereas, the Royals have managed to maintain tempo with their friends, culminating on this week’s emphatic sequence victory in Cleveland and setting the stage for an ultra-exciting ultimate month.

A enjoyable subplot of the Royals chasing down Cleveland is how most of the contemporary faces amongst Kansas Metropolis’s management labored for the Guardians prior to now. Whereas Royals skipper Matt Quatraro’s professional teaching profession started within the Rays group — together with managing a younger catcher named Stephen Vogt back in 2007 — his first job on a big-league workers was with Cleveland as an assistant hitting coach. Pitching coach Brian Sweeney, extensively credited as a key determine behind the Royals’ dramatic turnaround on the mound, joined Quatraro forward of 2023 after spending 5 seasons on Cleveland’s major-league workers, primarily as a bullpen coach. And the ties prolong additional up the chain of command: Earlier than he purchased the Royals following the 2019 season, chairman and CEO John Sherman spent three years as vice chairman of the Guardians after purchasing a stake in the team in 2016.

These connections function an intriguing backdrop to a burgeoning rivalry between two golf equipment that traditionally haven’t spent a lot time collectively atop the AL Central standings. For the reason that inception of the division in 1994, simply as soon as have these two groups completed first and second: in 1995, when a juggernaut Cleveland workforce gained 100 video games and the second-place Royals finished 30 games back however forward of Chicago, Milwaukee and Minnesota. In different phrases, that is the primary time in three a long time of divisional historical past that we’ve seen these two golf equipment jockeying for the highest spot this late within the season.

By blasting previous even essentially the most optimistic of outlooks for this season, the Royals dramatically altered the established order within the AL Central, and now they’re in pursuit of MLB historical past with a month left within the common season. After successful simply 56 video games a yr in the past, the Royals are presently on tempo to win 91. That will tie the divisional-era record for many wins gained from one yr to the following, which is presently held by the 1999 D-backs, who gained 100 video games after successful simply 65 in 1998. Ought to the Royals end in first place within the AL Central, they’d change into the primary workforce in MLB historical past to win the division following a 100-loss season.

And whereas the Royals’ actual file and end within the standings are weeks away from being decided, a return to October in some type is trying extra sure by the day, with FanGraphs tabbing the Royals’ present odds of qualifying for the postseason at roughly 90%.

For Perez, who stays the center and soul of this workforce each on and off the sector, the wait to play postseason baseball once more has gone on lengthy sufficient.

“It means quite a bit,” he stated this week of being in a playoff push this late within the season. “There’s nothing we will disguise about what’s gone on right here final yr, two years in the past and even six years after we gained the World Collection. I’ve all the time stated hopefully we cease shedding as a result of I wish to return to the playoffs. So each recreation is essential to us.”

For Quatraro, Perez is high of thoughts when reflecting on what Kansas Metropolis has already achieved — and what it has in its sights.

“I really feel very lucky to be right here and have the ability to watch him day-after-day as a result of it’s particular,” he stated. “… His efficiency on the sector is what everyone sees, however his drive to win and his work ethic behind the scenes is excellent.

“We really feel the duty as a workforce and a corporation to get him again to these spots. And I feel that was an enormous a part of our drive this winter — he deserves that. He earned that. He performed each single recreation final yr in a very tough yr, and he is by no means wavered.”

Whereas Witt’s rapid ascent to superstardom has outlined the Royals’ rocket-ship journey out of a prolonged rebuild, Perez is the lone participant within the clubhouse who already is aware of what it’s prefer to be on a successful Royals playoff workforce. Witt was about to begin fifth grade when Perez debuted with Kansas Metropolis in 2011, and he was a highschool freshman when Perez and the Royals gained all of it in 2015. Now, they’re co-starring searching for a long-awaited return to the postseason for the group.

“As quickly as you play within the playoffs,” Perez stated, “you don’t wish to play ever once more within the common season. You simply wish to play within the playoffs.”