The Royals trailed, 2-1, entering the seventh when the Rays brought in Xavier Cedeno to start the inning. Eric Hosmer greeted the Rays southpaw with a single to left. One out later, Perez stepped to the plate and watched Cedeno's first pitch hit the dirt for ball one. Perez then re-routed an 88-mph fastball into the left-field stands for his 16th homer of the season and a 3-2 Royals lead.
The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the first on Hosmer's RBI single.