Salvador Perez is comfortable at Target Field. But if you ask the Twins, they’d probably say that seeing the veteran catcher in the right-handed batter’s box makes them uneasy.

Saturday afternoon's third inning against Minnesota’s J.A. Happ was another example of how dominant Perez has been in the Twins' home territory. Perez's two-run homer tied the game, but it also made the Royals' slugger the leading home-run hitter at Target Field among visiting players.

Target Field opened its doors ahead of the 2010 season, and no one in an opposing uniform has slugged the way Perez has. The 77.5-mph curveball from Happ turned into a 375-foot long ball to left field that put Perez in the history books with the most home runs (19).

Perez has had many reps at Target Field since he debuted with Kansas City in 2011. He’s played more than 70 games in Minnesota and owns a slash line of .325/.353/.598 with 35 extra-base hits. For comparison, Perez has played 68 games at Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, and is hitting .261 with 22 extra-base hits there.

But for Perez, there isn’t much to his approach that he changes from stadium to stadium because all it comes down to him “doing my job.”

“I just hit the ball good here,” Perez said after Saturday’s game. “Hopefully, I continue to hit homers. People ask me about that: if there’s something here, where they’re coming from, and I don’t have an answer. I just try to do my job, come and play no matter what field we’re on, try to do the best I can do and help my team to win.”

The Venezuelan native has done just that. Though Kansas City isn’t leading the AL Central like it was in the beginning of the season, Perez's bat has helped keep the Royals in contention to make a significant comeback in the standings.

When Perez is in the lineup at Kauffman Stadium, he’s hitting .300 with five home runs and 13 RBIs in 2021. But when he’s in Minnesota, Perez is batting over .315 this season with a .737 slugging percentage.

Perez added to his Target Field legend by going 1-for-4 with an RBI single in Sunday's 6-3 win.

The 31-year-old has found his home away from home and he’ll get another chance to visit it near the end of the season when the Royals travel to Minnesota in mid-September.

Jorge Soler improving after early exit
Manager Mike Matheny said the right-fielder is feeling much better the morning after Soler experienced right groin discomfort that led to his prompt removal from Saturday’s game.

Soler recorded one at-bat for the Royals that resulted in an infield popup that ended the first inning and was replaced by Hunter Dozier in right in the bottom of the second inning.

Starting rotation set vs. Pittsburgh
Mike Minor will take the mound for Kansas City in the series opener on Monday when the Royals return home for Memorial Day. Right-hander Brady Singer will make his 11th start of the season on Tuesday as the Royals and Pirates wrap up a two-game series.