ANDl Venezuelan Salvador Pérez hit his 46th home run, breaking the home run record for a catcher in a season imposed by Johnny Bench in the first game, and subsequently the Kansas City Royals completed the doubleheader sweep Monday with a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Indians.
Perez hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning of the 7-2 win. surpassing the benchmark total of 1970 for a player who played at least 75% of his games as a catcher.
Pérez also tied for the leadership of the Major League Baseball in home runs against Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from Toronto. The Venezuelan leads the majors with 115 RBIs.
In the second meeting, Perez doubled at the start before striking out off Anthony Gose, a former outfielder who returned to the majors after five years of absence as a strong pitcher.
Gose pitched a two-thirds inning, allowing a run and a hit, with a walk and a strikeout. Of his 39 launches, seven reached 100 miles per hour.
Hours before in the first commitment, Pérez, who started again behind the plate, sent a pitch with a count of 1-2 by Triston McKenzie to the left field stands, a slam that traveled 429 feet.
Pérez pointed to the sky after crossing the plate and went embraced by several of his companions when entering the booth.
For the Royals, Venezuelan Pérez 2-1 with one scored. Dominicans Carlos Santana 2-0 with an RBI, Hanser Alberto 3-2 with an RBI. Venezuelan Sebastián Rivero 3-0 with an RBI.