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Salvador Perez ties Kansas City Royals record with 48th home run, then exits early

MLB, Kansas City Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Royals star Salvador Perez hit his team-record-tying 48th home run in the first inning of Wednesday night's 10-5 win over the Cleveland Indians, then exited after the second due to a sprained right ankle.

Perez homered on the first pitch he saw from Zach Plesac, extending his major league lead with a three-run drive. He also tops MLB with 121 RBIs.

Perez struck out the next inning and left the game.

Perez said he slipped on the bottom step going into the dugout in the middle of the second inning. He said he expects to play Thursday.

"It's amazing," he said about tying the team record. "We've got four more games to see [what happens]."

The All-Star catcher matched the club mark of 48 home runs set by Jorge Soler in 2019. It was the 200th career homer for Perez, who last week broke the big league record for homers by a catcher in a single season.

"We see a lot of angles from our vantage point. You don't see that kind of angle and the ball carry like that one did," manager Mike Matheny said. "It was pretty impressive. He's a special hitter."

Matheny said Perez's injury had his teammates worried.

"The guys were concerned," Matheny said. "You talk about a guy being the heart and soul, that's who he is."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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