KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Lorenzo Cain had no idea what kind of pitch came out of Zach Putnam's hand in the eighth inning. Was it a fastball? Was it a split-finger?
It was simply gone.
"I don't get many home runs, but when I get 'em, I can tell," he said.
Cain's no-doubt two-run home run in the eighth inning broke a late-game tie and lifted the Royals to a 7-5 win over the White Sox on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
His homer, which came off a first-pitch 87-mph splitter according to Pitch f/x, punctuated a roller-coaster night for the center fielder that started with another plunking.
Two days after Jeff Samardzija hit Cain on the arm, Chicago starter Jose Quintana nailed him on the shin with a first-pitch fastball. It was a first for Cain -- he had never been hit by the same team in back-to-back games. But he responded with two more hits before the deciding blow.
Cain's 18th career home run in 1,269 at-bats also highlighted the Royals' recent power surge. They have two home runs in each of their first two games, all by different players.
Eric Hosmer smashed a three-run homer in Wednesday's third inning. Alex Rios and Mike Moustakas each went deep Monday afternoon.
"Even last year when everyone was making a big deal about us not hitting home runs, I'd say, 'Look, we have guys that are capable of hitting home runs,'" Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "They get in their comfort zone and all of a sudden, their power is going to increase. I think you're going to see increased power numbers from this club this year."
In 2014, it took the Royals 13 games to hit four home runs and they did not reach that mark at home until April 29. By season's end, they were last in the majors with just 95 long balls.
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"We're going to get it done different ways every day, whether it's on the bases or whether it's days like today when we get big swings from guys," Hosmer said. "We realize what kind of team we are. We realize what kind of offense we have. We realize it's not going to be via home run every single time."
But the potential for power is there this year. Four Royals have hit at least 20 home runs before, including both new additions, Rios and Kendrys Morales.
Even with the power display Wednesday night, the Royals' offense still looked familiar. They stole two bases, including a delayed steal by heavy-footed catcher Salvador Perez.
"It's nice to have, but I don't think it's going to be something that we're going to live and die by," Yost said. "There's so many other ways we can score runs with our speed and our athleticism, hitting and running, moving runners, doing little things to score runs and win ballgames."
You can follow Matthew DeFranks on Twitter at @MDeFranks or email him at matthew.defranks@gmail.com.
