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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Salvador Perez hit a home run in the seventh inning to extend Kansas City's lead to two runs. Then he picked off a runner with a perfect throw to first baseman Eric Hosmer in the eighth to preserve the two-run lead as the Royals defeated the Seattle Mariners 5-3 on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium. "That was Hosmer," Perez said after the game. "He gives me a sign and I throw the ball to him. I think he knows more than me."
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While Perez wanted to give all the credit to his teammate, Hosmer has a different take.
"That's all him. Just knowing he's behind the plate, you've gotta stay close to the bag at all times because he's so quick back there," Hosmer said. "The pitch takes him that way and he just throws it right back over there. It's just an unbelievable play and that's why Salvy's the best."
Maybe Royals manager Ned Yost has the best perspective. "That was huge," he said. "It was a two-strike count, and you can get into a running situation to stay out of the double-play. Seager's a heads-up guy.
"It was a perfect pickoff play to salvage the inning for us. They're a great tandem out there. They work really well together in those situations. They've got little signs that they send to one another."
Edinson Volquez (8-8) picked up the win for Kansas City. He pitched six innings, giving up three runs and six hits with one walk and three strikeouts. He gave up a three-run homer to Kyle Seager but only allowed three hits outside the fourth inning.
"I thought Eddie was fantastic," Yost said. "His ball/strike ratio was as good as it's been all year. He was one fastball away from throwing six shutout innings."
Volquez was happy with his effort, except for one pitch.
"(Seager) is one of the best hitters over there. You cannot let one of their best hitters beat you on an 0-2 pitch with two men on the bases. That was a big mistake," Volquez said.
"I got upset with the tie game because it was my mistake. I was able to control the game after that. I threw a lot of strikes."
Seager's home run extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
Kelvin Herrera pitched the ninth for his first save since 2013. It was his first save opportunity since closer Wade Davis went on the disabled list July 5 with a right forearm strain.
Wade Miley (6-6) suffered the loss. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs and 10 hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
"They did a good job swinging the bat," Miley said. "Once we it got past the second inning, I felt I threw the ball pretty well. We just needed some outs on the ground, but they're a good team."
Kansas City took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Paulo Orlando beat out an infield hit to start the inning. After Brett Eibner walked, Alcides Escobar bunted, but Orlando was forced at third. Cheslor Cuthbert then delivered a line drive over shortstop, scoring Eibner and chasing Miley.
Perez extended the lead in the seventh to 5-3 with his home run, then helped reliever Joakim Soria get out of trouble in the top of the eighth with the pickoff. It was the first pickoff of the season for Perez but the 18th of his career, the most in the majors leagues since his debut in 2011.
Franklin Gutierrez followed with a flyout to deep center that would have scored a run with only one out.
Seattle manager Scott Servais was left to ponder what might have been.
"He hung in there after the three-run inning," he said of his starter. "He gave himself a chance. He just didn't make that bad a pitch to Cuthbert, and he just flipped a single into left field.
"I thought at that point, where it was, he'd kept us in the game. Again, offensively, we've talked the last couple of nights about doing better things, getting runners over and getting them in. Today, we didn't execute."
The Royals got to Miley early, scoring three runs on three doubles in the second. Perez led off with a walk. With one out, Eibner doubled to left center, sending Perez to third. An RBI groundout by Escobar scored Perez. Back-to-back RBI doubles by Cuthbert and Whit Merrifield produced the additional runs.
Cruz doubled in the sixth, giving him 40 extra-base hits this season. Seattle joined Boston as the only American League team with three players (Cano and Seager) with at least 40 extra-base hits.
NOTES: Seattle INF Dae-Ho Lee was back in the lineup as the designated hitter after missing Friday's game with a sore hand. ... Friday's 3-2 loss marked just the second one-run loss at home this season for Kansas City. The Royals were 11-2 in one-run games at Kauffman Stadium heading into Saturday's action. ... No hitter on the Royals entered Saturday's game with more than a two-game hitting streak. Three Mariners (Kyle Seager, 11; Robinson Cano, 7; and Dae-Ho Lee, 7) had streaks of at least seven games. ... Seattle manager Scott Servais said closer Steve Cishek would be available if needed, even though he closed games the last two nights. Cishek took the loss Thursday when he gave up a two-run double to Salvador Perez in the ninth. He picked up his 21st save on Friday. ... Kansas City manager Ned Yost said his starter Sunday will be Dillon Gee. The spot in the rotation was formerly held by Chris Young.
