466 feet?! Cags crushes KC’s longest rookie HR — sealed with a kiss
KANSAS CITY — The sinker that Jac Caglianone hit in the fourth inning Wednesday night was gone as soon as his bat made contact with it — everyone in the ballpark knew that.
But then it just kept going.
Caglianone’s two-run home run off Pirates starter Bailey Falter cleared not one, not two but three separate walls in center field at Kauffman Stadium for a whopping Statcast-projected 466 feet, bouncing over the QuikTrip banner below the CrownVision scoreboard.
Caglianone was greeted in the dugout with what has turned into a very Italian home run celebration between him and Vinnie Pasquantino, in which Pasquantino greets Caglianone with an il bacetto — kisses on both cheeks.
“Just Italians being Italians,” Caglianone said.
The Royals rookie was part of what turned into a power show on Wednesday night in Kansas City’s 4-3 win over Pittsburgh, clinching the series sweep, and he wasn’t the only Royal to demolish a baseball.
The club’s veteran captain demolished two.
Salvador Perez turned in his 19th career multihomer game with home runs in the second and eighth inning, the latter the game-winning blast that gave the Royals their fourth consecutive victory, seventh of July and eighth of their past 12.
By the end of the night, Perez and Caglianone had combined for 1,336 feet worth of home runs.
“To turn the game like that with big swings and provide some slug for the offense is huge,” said starter Kris Bubic, who allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings. “I know we don’t tend to hit a ton of homers here, but those guys can hit them out anywhere. To see them step up in big situations — Jac hits the ball harder than anybody, so we knew that was coming.
“And Salvy, time and time again coming up in clutch situations. It doesn’t surprise us one bit.”
For the majority of his month-plus in the big leagues, Caglianone has hit behind Perez in the lineup. The 22-year-old has watched the 35-year-old impact games for the Royals on TV; now he’s watching from the on-deck circle.
And Perez has been a key teammate Caglianone has leaned on during his tough transition to the Major Leagues. Through the struggles, Perez has encouraged Caglianone to remember that he’s here for a reason.
The past two days are exactly why. Following Tuesday’s 421-foot homer, Caglianone wowed his teammates with his 466-foot blast Wednesday. It was the longest homer by a Royals rookie since Statcast began tracking distances in 2015, and it’s tied for the 10th-longest home run by any player — fourth longest by a Royal — at Kauffman Stadium. It was only eight feet shy of Brandon Moss’ record 474-foot blast in 2017. And it was just three feet shy of the longest homer hit here this year: Aaron Judge’s 469-foot blast on June 10.
“As strong as he is, he doesn’t need to swing hard,” Perez said. “Just touch the ball, and it’s going to go far. He’s going to learn. He’s only 22 years old, coming from college to the big leagues pretty much. He’s doing a good job. He did a great job in Double-A and Triple-A, and in the big leagues, you’re going to face the best pitchers who are in the big leagues for a reason.
“But I always tell him, ‘You’re in the big leagues for a reason. You know you can do it. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.’”
Pressure seemed to be relieved as Caglianone connected with his fourth home run of the season, and he tried not to watch the ball as it kept sailing over the center-field wall, but how could anyone look away?
When the ball is traveling that far to that part of the park, Caglianone knows he’s doing something right.
“Definitely kind of reminded [me] not to do too much,” Caglianone said. “Power will play. Instead of fighting to get to it, just be more relaxed.”
Four innings later, Caglianone had the best seat in the house for Perez’s tiebreaking homer, with the slugger ambushing a first-pitch slider from Isaac Mattson and sending it to center field.
“Situation like that, one swing can make the difference,” Perez said.
The Royals finding their power has been a huge part of their success lately; they’ve crushed 14 homers in their past six games, and 12 of their 17 runs scored over the past three nights against the Pirates came via home run. They’ve hit multiple homers in three consecutive home games after not doing so in any of their previous 56 games at Kauffman Stadium dating back to last Aug. 25 vs. Philadelphia.
“Everybody’s having fun out there,” Caglianone said. “And I think it comes down to just playing for each other. We kind of know the position we’re in and where we want to be going into the break, and there’s no better way to do that than on a hot streak.”
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Anne Rogers covers the Royals for MLB.com.