KANSAS CITY, MO. (May 2, 2021) – The Kansas City Royals announced this morning that catcher Salvador Perez and left-handed pitcher Danny Duffy have been named Royals Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for the month of April. The awards are determined by a local media vote.
Perez, 30, tied for the team lead with 26 hits in April, 11 of which went for extra bases. His strong month was fueled by a 10-game homestand from April 12-21, which began with a four-hit game, including the 1,000th hit of his career. The following night, Perez had two hits and a walk-off pick-off, nabbing the potential tying run at third base to end the game. He followed that up with two hits and a home run to clinch the series win over the Angels on April 14. In the next series vs. Toronto, he hit a walk-off home run in the seventh inning in Game 2 of the April 17 doubleheader, and the following day, he caught all 9 innings of a shutout and hit the go-ahead, two-run home run in the seventh inning to clinch the third win in four games vs. the Blue Jays. Perez capped this memorable 10-game homestand with a walk-off single in the ninth on April 21 vs. the defending American League champion Rays, becoming the first player in the Majors this season with two walk-off hits. He had four game-winning RBI on that homestand, which matched the American League lead for the entire month of April. This is Perez’s third Royals Player of the Month award and first since July of 2018.
Duffy, 32, went 3-1 with a 0.39 ERA (1 ER in 23.0 IP) in April, best in the Majors (min. 4 starts), and the best ERA in any calendar month in Royals history (min. 4 starts), besting the previous record owned by Zack Greinke, who had a 0.50 ERA (2 ER in 36.0 IP) in five April starts in 2009, his Cy Young Award-winning season. Duffy’s 0.39 ERA marked the fifth-best mark (min. 4 starts) in April in the Expansion Era (since 1969), trailing only Fernando Valenzuela (0.20 ERA in 1981 and 0.21 ERA in 1985, both with the Dodgers**), Roger Clemens** (0.28 ERA in 1991 with Boston) and Nick Martínez (0.35 ERA in 2015 with Texas). He ended the month with no earned runs allowed over his last 12.0 innings, and his only loss in April came on April 19 vs. Tampa Bay, a game in which he was charged with two unearned runs over 6.0 innings. This is Duffy’s seventh Royals Pitcher of the Month Award, matching Kevin Appier for third most since the award was established in 1995, trailing only Greinke and Joakim Soria (8 each).
COURTESY KANSAS CITY ROYALS & MLBpressbox.com
