The Royals offense isn’t known for going on power trips. But they did so four times on Friday, and each was heard loud and clear.
Salvador Perez, Hunter Renfroe, Kyle Isbel and Vinnie Pasquantino all homered for the Royals as they beat the Cleveland Guardians 10-3 at Kauffman Stadium.
“We have a great offense and it’s always great to show it,” said Renfro, who had two hits, including a home run.
Renfroe’s blast (his eighth) followed Salvador Perez’s 447-foot shot in the second inning that gave the Royals a 2-1 lead. The Royals followed with three more in the third inning as Isbel homered, sending Cleveland starter Triston McKenzie (3-5) from the game.
“I thought there was good discipline,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I thought there was good patience when it needed to be there and then to continue to expand. To keep chipping away later in the game and to add those three in the eighth was big.”
Maikel Garcia scored on a wild pitch in the eighth then Pasquantino’s two-run blast put the game out of reach, mostly.
“You can’t take your foot off the gas,” Quatraro said. “We’ve seen these guys comeback on teams all year long. And you never know what’s going to happen in a game and you’ve got to keep trying to expand. That doesn’t always happen but that’s got to be your mindset.”
Renfroe was in a great frame of mind two weeks ago as he was heating up offensively after a low start, but he fouled two pitches off his foot and went on the injured list. But since returning to the lineup last week, Renfroe is seemingly back to form, and that has the Royals (46-38) excited.
“That’s what we expected from him, and that’s what he started to do right before he got hurt and he’s getting back to that, which is great,” Quatraro said. “He’s been a true power hitter in this league for a number of years and that’s exactly why we signed him.”
Royals starter Alec Marsh (6-5) gave up one run in six innings while striking out five and walking two. Marsh pitched with traffic but he coaxed Cleveland into three double plays and picked off a runner.
“They’re a team that doesn’t strikeout much, and you know they’re going to put the bat on the ball. And I was trying my best to make really good pitches. The curveball was good and when I get that in good location, it’s a good groundball pitch. So I just had a lot of trust in that and the defense and they did such a good job tonight.”
TALLIS, SCHUERHOLZ INDUCTED INTO ROYALS HALL OF FAME
Former Royals general managers Cedric Tallis and John Schuerholz were inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame prior to Friday’s game.
Tallis was the team’s first GM and orchestrated the team’s rise to prominence despite being an expansion team. Under Tallis, the Royals drafted George Brett, Willie Wilson, Paul Splittorff, Dennis Leonard and Steve Busby, and Frank White was a product of the Royals Baseball Academy.
Tallis also acquired Amos Otis, John Mayberry, Cookie Rojas, Fred Patek and Hal McRae through trades. Tallis, though, was fired after a falling out with Royals owner Ewing Kauffman in 1974.
Schuerholz joined Royals organization in 1968 and became the team’s farm director in 1975. He served as GM from 1981-90 and hired Dick Howser as manager. He traded for Bud Bluck, Jim Sundberg and Lonnie Smith, and drafted Bret Saberhagen, Danny Jackson and Mark Gubicza, who helped the Royals capture their first World Series title in 1985.
Schuerholz became the Braves’ GM in 1990 and helped lead them to a World Series title in 1995, becoming the first GM in history to win a World Series in both the American and National Leagues.
