Perez knows the Royals still have what it takes.
Salvador Perez has been around long enough to know that baseball is a game of patience, and the veteran catcher believes the Kansas City Royals are starting to prove it.
After a brutal stretch that saw Kansas City drop eight straight games and fall to the bottom of the American League standings, the Royals have won three of their last four while scoring at least six runs in each of those wins.
It is a small sample, but the lineup has started to look more like the group everyone expected heading into the season.
Perez Leads By Example on Saturday
Perez backed up his words with a big night on Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels, going 3-for-5 with a solo home run, an RBI double and an RBI single in a 12-1 blowout at Kauffman Stadium.
It was the complete performance the Royals have been waiting on from their veteran leader.
"Baseball is like that, you know," Perez said. "I always say, come here every day and prepare yourself. They work hard and they compete. They play hard every night. Control what you can control."
That message carries extra weight coming from someone who has spent his entire 15-year career in Kansas City and has been through plenty of rough stretches before.
Perez entered Saturday hitting just .180 with three home runs and six RBI, and there were real questions about whether the 35-year-old's bat would come around. Saturday felt like a step in the right direction.
The Lineup Is Starting to Click
It was not just Perez either.
Nick Loftin drove in a career-high four runs, Bobby Witt Jr. doubled and scored, and Vinnie Pasquantino drew three walks including one with the bases loaded.
Cole Ragans struck out 11 batters in six innings of one-run ball, and the whole team played with a different level of energy that had been missing during the losing streak.
The Royals sit at 10-17 after Saturday's win, which is still last in the AL Central and far from where they want to be.
But they are only a handful of games out of the wild card picture, and the division remains wide open.
A Long Way to Go
One good week does not fix a season's worth of problems.
The Royals still need more from Pasquantino at the plate and need starters beyond Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha to hold their own on a regular basis.
Jonathan India remains on the injured list with a shoulder issue, and Maikel Garcia just missed two games with elbow soreness.
But Perez's approach is the right one.
Show up, prepare, compete, and let the results follow.
If the rest of the lineup takes that attitude and the bats stay warm the way they have lately, Kansas City has enough talent to climb back into the race.
Nights like Saturday are a reminder of what this team can look like when everything connects.