Royals’ Perez giving fans reason to watch September baseball

By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Amid another lost year for the Kansas City Royals, Salvador Perez is giving fans a reason to pay attention. The veteran catcher is on a historic home run-hitting pace as the stretch run begins. The 31-year-old is setting his sights not only on the franchise record but also the mark for any big league backstop. He already has 41 homers this season, four behind Johnny Bench’s record set in 1970 for a player making at least 75% of his starts at catcher. And with a go-ahead RBI single in a win Monday night over the Orioles, Perez moved into a tie with Jose Abreu of the White Sox for the big lead league.