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From the backyard to the ballyard, Salvador Perez plays the hero.

After visiting a friend during Thursday’s off day for the Kansas City Royals, Perez spotted some youngsters playing and joined them in the backyard for some Wiffle ball, much to the delight of the kids.

“The Wiffle ball yesterday got me ready for tonight’s game,” Perez said jokingly, suggesting he should do it again before Saturday night’s game, the second of a weekend series between the host Royals and Philadelphia Phillies.

Perez followed Thursday’s Wiffle ball game with three RBIs in the Royals’ 7-4 win on Friday, including a 434-foot homer into the fountains in left field, as Kansas City cut its deficit to one game behind first-place Cleveland in the American League Central.

“That ball was absolutely tattooed,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Perez’s two-run homer. “His energy level is great.”

The homer gave Perez 900 career RBIs, the fourth Royals player to reach the mark.

“(It means) a lot,” said Perez, 34. “Hopefully, many more.”

His run-scoring hits have been integral to Kansas City’s surprising success. He has 27 go-ahead RBIs, matching Aaron Judge for the major league lead.

Perez’s effort is not lost on his teammates.

“The first thing I noticed about him is the respect that other teams give him,” Vinnie Pasquantino said. “The guy’s been doing it forever. You just see the work that he puts in every day. Just to see how he does it is incredible. The joy the guy has for the game is second to none. He’s the captain for a reason.”

“To be as good as he’s been for as long as he’s been, to accumulate those numbers is incredible,” Quatraro said.

Hunter Renfroe also homered on Friday, surpassing 500 career RBIs.

“Four hundred behind Sal,” he said. “He’s been doing this for 12, 13 years now. It’s just incredible to see him go out there and work as hard as he does. He’s our leader.”

Winners of seven of their last eight games, the Royals will send right-hander Brady Singer (9-8, 3.18 ERA) to the mound Saturday for his first-ever start against the Phillies. He threw six shutout innings on Sunday at Cincinnati, allowing five hits and a walk with six strikeouts in an 8-1 win.

Philadelphia activated left-hander Ranger Suarez (10-5, 2.87) from the injured list for the start on Saturday. Out since July 23 with lower back soreness, Suarez has lost four of his last five starts, last earning a victory June 8.

Suarez has yet to face the Royals in his career.

In a corresponding move, left-handed reliever Tyler Gilbert was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh. Gilbert made this season’s only major league appearance in Friday’s game, allowing a run in two relief innings behind starter Taijuan Walker, who surrendered six runs on eight hits in three innings.

“I’m encouraged by his velocity,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who was non-committal about Walker making his next start. “But, in the third inning, everything was in the middle of the plate, so it’s command. You don’t want to be in the middle of the plate all the time. He gets behind, then he has to come to the middle, and that’s when he gets hit.”

After just 13 hits while losing a series to Atlanta, the Phillies collected 11 in Friday’s loss, their fourth in their last five games.

“I was encouraged by our at-bats tonight,” Thomson said. “I thought they were a lot better. I didn’t think we chased as much, not nearly as much as (Thursday) night. We used the entire field. We moved runners. I was encouraged by how we swung the bats, used the field, didn’t chase, and tried to manufacture some runs.”

–Field Level Media