Salvy, Royals 'have Junior's back' after red-hot Witt gets plunked

KANSAS CITY -- Salvador Perez is adamant when he talks about his teammate Bobby Witt Jr., saying that the 24-year-old Witt is the “best player in MLB and best player I’ve ever played with, too.”

So when Witt stepped to the plate already 3-for-3 on Monday night only needing a single for the Royals’ first cycle since George Brett in 1990, Perez was fairly confident that a base hit would come.

And when Witt promptly got plunked on the upper left arm by a 91.7 mph sinker on the first pitch from D-backs reliever Humberto Castellanos, Perez did not take to it kindly.

“I don’t like the way it looks, honest to you guys,” Perez said. “Three-for-three, trying to get a hit for the cycle. …

“I’m going to have Junior’s back.”

Tensions flared, if only slightly, in the Royals’ 10-4 series-opening win over the D-backs at Kauffman Stadium, a victory that clinched Kansas City’s 56th win of the season -- matching their entire total from last season in their 101st game this year.

The Royals’ turnaround in ‘24 has been so much about the pitching, and Cole Ragans gave them another quality start Monday, allowing three runs while grinding through six innings on 105 pitches.

But offensively? Witt and Perez have carried the lineup for most of the year, and they were right in the middle of things Monday. Both homered to help the Royals’ put up double digits on the D-backs. By the fourth inning, Witt had a triple -- his 10th of the season -- double and homer. His 18th home run of the season was a three-run blast on the first pitch he saw from D-backs reliever Miguel Castro in the fourth inning, sending a middle-middle sinker 431 feet out to left-center field.

Witt is now 12-for-15 (.800) since coming back from the All-Star break with four consecutive three-hit games.

“The power he displays, the poise at the plate, it’s like he’s playing a different game,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “… Castro is not an easy reliever to face. And he comes in, first pitch, you don’t expect [Witt] to hit a home run. But I guess maybe you start trying to expect it.”

When Witt got hit in the sixth inning, the Royals’ dugout was livid. Perez was fired up from the top step of the dugout. Boos rained down from the crowd. Witt calmly jogged to first base, ran hard to third on Vinnie Pasquantino’s single and scored on Perez’s sacrifice fly.

In the top of the seventh, reliever John Schreiber hit Gabriel Moreno on a 2-1 sinker. Warnings were issued to both teams, and D-backs manager Torey Lovullo got ejected after arguing with the umpires.

“What I said was: 'If you think in your right mind that I was going to ask our team to hit the future of Major League Baseball, one of the best players in Major League Baseball, you’re crazy,'” Lovullo said. “And you’ve lost control of this situation. And you got it wrong. That’s what I said to [home-plate umpire] Jordan Baker, and I wanted Salvy to hear that. I wanted him to take it back to their dugout and make sure that he understood that that’s how I felt. And that’s how I feel about Bobby Witt Jr. He’s an unbelievable player.”

Perez said he heard Lovullo, agreed with him and doesn’t think Monday’s situation will carry over to Tuesday. The Royals said Schreiber hitting Moreno was not intentional.

“My scouting reports for most guys are sinker-slider,” Schreiber told MLB.com. “I’m a sidearm guy. I just missed one, and it is what it is. I know what everyone thinks situationally, but I’m going up there trying to compete.”

Quatraro added: “The unfortunate part for me is that it’s hard to see another team talking to your players. That was the most frustrating thing. I think that’s why it got out of hand.”

Witt wasn’t sure if Castellanos’ pitch was intentional. But he did appreciate Perez having his back.

“That’s why he’s the captain,” Witt said. “He’s protecting all the guys, he’s got everyone’s back. … I don’t know if I would want to mess with him.”

Witt got one more chance for a base hit in the eighth but flied out to right field, saying he may have gotten too “big” with his swing and missed a good pitch.

“I don’t really know how to, I feel like, hit a single,” Witt, the MLB leader in hits (137) said. “I was just trying to put a good swing on it. … But it was a great win today.”

After all, wins are all Witt cares about. He’s experiencing a lot more of them this year – and doesn’t want to slow down.

“Just shows you what we’re capable of doing,” Witt said. “We all know that. We just got to prove to ourselves that we can do it, and we’ve got to keep doing it. It’s a lot of fun right now.”