As Salvador Perez strode to the plate in the sixth inning on Wednesday, at least three things were true. The Royals’ offense was in an instafunk, mired in a three-day slump that took root here on Monday. The club had put two runners in scoring position with nobody out after Eric Hosmer ripped a double to right. And Perez had dug in the box twice against Orioles starter Jeremy Hellickson and swung at the first pitch both times.
Even in the moment, the feeling was obvious: This was a pivotal hitter. The deficit was three runs. The Royals’ offense was finally stirring.