KANSAS CITY -- Whenever Tom Gordon watches his sons play baseball, he has a signal to help them find him in the stands -- two sharp whistles -- though he's no longer able to make it as shrill as he used to, and Dee Strange-Gordon and Nick Gordon sometimes have trouble hearing it.

Nick definitely had trouble finding -- or hearing -- his father in the raucous crowd of 22,612 on hand at Kauffman Stadium on Friday night, considering they had plenty to cheer for in a 14-5 win for the Royals.

That meant Gordon didn't know where to look as he rounded third base on his first career home run in the eighth inning, but that didn't take away from how special the day was for the family, with both parents -- Tom Gordon and Yolanda Maloy -- treated to the blast and a career-high three hits from their son as they gathered to watch him as a big leaguer together for the first time.

"I actually didn't see him," Nick Gordon said. "I didn't see him the entire game. I'm not really sure where he was sitting at. That's usually not to hard to find. I usually find him. But I was kind of focused today. Kind of got on the field and really didn't look up too much."

Tom, who enjoyed a 21-year career in the big leagues, wanted to surprise Nick at the ballpark, but he had to scrap that plan once he landed in Kansas City three hours earlier than expected. Not wanting to bother close friend and longtime Royals usher supervisor Bob Stamps so early in the morning, Tom Gordon instead went to the Twins' team hotel, where he found Nick in the lobby.

Cover blown.

"I had to call him because I wanted him to know that I was trying to get a room cheaper," Tom Gordon said. "So I had to tell him."

Tom Gordon, usually known by his nickname, "Flash," spent the first eight seasons of his career in Kansas City, where he pitched for many years as an effective starter before his mid-career transition to relief with the Royals. He tries to make it back to Kansas City once a year, and felt this was the perfect time to make it out to watch his son at his old stomping grounds.

"I want every ball he hits out of the park," Tom Gordon said. "I want every ball to be hit hard. He sure better not make an error, because then I'm fussing about that. I think that comes with it. As much as I love it, I appreciate it. At the same time, I appreciate how much his teammates and friends and family, everybody that's here, love him."

There probably wasn't much fussing to be had on a mostly flawless day from Nick, who struggled through a plethora of health issues over the last three seasons spanning from gastritis, a thigh strain, a knee contusion and COVID-19. He persevered through the maladies to make his debut earlier this year after seven seasons in the Minors and logged his first career RBI in Thursday's loss.

Gordon clubbed a solid single up the middle off Brad Keller in the first inning, poked a bloop hit to the opposite field in the sixth and got ahold of a cutter from Wade Davis in the eighth, reaching under the strike zone to showcase his rare power with a Statcast-projected 423-foot blast to straightaway center.

Gordon only hit 26 homers total in the Minors.

"I wasn't expecting to hit a homer," he said. "I definitely didn't off the bat think it was going to go that far. I just thought I got it pretty good and I looked up and it was gone. It felt pretty good."

"This is one of the bigger stadiums you’re going to find anywhere, too," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "These are not easy places to drive the ball out in the middle of the field."

The Twins could have pushed the night over the top for the Gordon family if Baldelli had enlisted Nick to take the mound in the eighth inning of the blowout instead of Willians Astudillo, which would have given Gordon a chance to take the same mound where his father's career began. Gordon joked that he always says he can throw seven innings whenever needed.

This would have been a good evening for that. But it wasn't necessary for it to be a special night anyway.

"I know this is where my dad started, so for him to be able to see me play my first big league game here, it’s definitely meaningful," Nick said. "It’s a blessing for me and my family."