No rest for the weary: Royals skip Perez's planned day off to shore up shorthanded offense
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Royals manager Ned Yost said he intended to give sturdy catcher Salvador Perez a day off Sunday, but opted not to because of concerns about the Kansas City offense.
The Royals were already without three regular starters, and inserting backup catcher Erik Kratz would have made four. Center fielder Lorenzo Cain started his two-game suspension Sunday. Right fielder Alex Rios and shortstop Alcides Escobar both reside on the disabled list.
"We didn't have enough offense in there to sit Sal out," Yost said.
Yost pulled Perez in the top of the seventh inning after the Tigers opened a six-run lead on Kansas City. Perez has started 24 of the Royals' 25 games, and played in every one.
Kratz caught the final three innings and went 0 for 1 with a sacrifice fly and an RBI.
Weekend attendance breaks mark
This weekend's series with Detroit marked the highest attendance for a four-game series since Kauffman Stadium was renovated before the 2009 season. Sunday's crowd of 38,326 marked the third straight sellout at The K and ran the weekend's total to 143,609.
"We love it," Yost said. "We love having a packed house. We love having our fans here. It was just a fantastic weekend."
The Royals already have five sellouts this season, surpassing last season's mark of four.
Medlen leaves for Arizona
Royals right-hander Kris Medlen packed his bags after Sunday's game for a trip to Arizona, where he will throw rehab outings to live hitters for the first time since Tommy John surgery last March.
Medlen missed the entire 2014 season because of the procedure but figures to be a factor on the Royals' pitching staff before the season is over.
You can follow Matthew DeFranks on Twitter at @MDeFranks or email him at matthew.defranks@gmail.com.
