Salvador Perez hit his first home run for the Kansas City Royals nearly 15 years ago, and that milestone occurred against the American League Central rival Detroit Tigers.

The 36-year-old catcher still is with the Royals, and he’ll aim for the franchise home run record when he returns to Detroit for the opener of a four-game series on Thursday evening.

Perez blasted career home run No. 317 on Wednesday to spark a five-run rally in the seventh inning against the visiting San Francisco Giants. Kansas City held on for a 5-4 win to complete a three-game sweep before embarking on a 10-game trip.

The two-run blast cleared the center-field fence and landed in the fountain, prompting a fan to leap into the water in an attempt to retrieve the ball — only to be arrested and escorted out empty-handed.

“If I was him, I’d maybe jump too and try to get that ball,” Perez joked. “Thank you for the hard work trying to get that ball.”

Perez hit his first MLB home run in Detroit off young right-hander Max Scherzer on Aug. 29, 2011, helping the Royals to a 9-5 win.

Scherzer went on to become an eight-time All Star, while Perez was selected nine times.

“What he does, the way he goes about it, the passion with the way he plays the game, it’s unrivaled,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said of Perez in an emotional news conference following the win on Wednesday. “The guy’s a Hall of Famer, and you’re getting to witness it.”

The Royals were trailing 3-0 on Wednesday when Perez came up with no outs in the seventh and Vinnie Pasquantino on second base. He waited on an 0-1 curve from Landen Roupp and launched it out of the park to tie George Brett’s franchise record.

Brett was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999.

“I’ve said it before,” Quatraro said. “My age (52), knowing of George as a fan, and anytime you’re in that breath, it’s awesome.”

Perez will be up against a young right-hander who hasn’t allowed a home run in his past three starts.

Troy Melton (5-1, 1.80 ERA) also has combined to allow just one earned run in those outings, which cover 17 1/3 innings.

Melton, 25, said he felt strong and rested coming out of the All-Star break. He then limited the Los Angeles Angels to one run and four hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 2-1 win last Friday in Anaheim, Calif.

He was one out from taking the loss, but the Tigers scored two runs with two outs in the ninth.

“The time off, I felt a little bit better than normal,” said Melton, who grew up a few miles from Anaheim. “The adrenaline of being home definitely plays into the factor as well.”

Melton made two relief appearances against Kansas City last season and allowed one run and five hits in a combined three innings.

The Tigers return home after winning four of six on the road coming out of the All-Star break, most recently 5-1 in the decisive contest of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday evening.

The Royals plan to start right-hander Randy Dobnak in the series opener on Thursday.

Dobnak (0-0, 1.93) is coming off his first MLB start in five years and he earned another opportunity after holding the visiting San Diego Padres to one run and four hits over 4 1/3 innings of a 6-1 win last Saturday.

Dobnak, who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners last month for cash considerations., made 21 starts for the Minnesota Twins from 2019-21, but since then his MLB experience is limited to nine appearances over the past three seasons.

The 31-year-old has made five appearances against the Tigers in his career, including three starts, and is 2-1 with a 5.12 ERA.

–Field Level Media

The New England Revolution are finalizing a deal to sign Leeds United winger Jack Harrison, The Athletic reported on Thursday.

The 29-year-old Englishman, who previously played in MLS for New York City FC (2016-17) will join the Revs as a designated player, per the report.

Harrison spent the second half of the 2025-26 season on loan with Serie A side Fiorentina, recording one goal and three assists in 15 matches.

Harrison recorded 14 goals and 13 assists in 55 regular-season matches with NYCFC before returning to England for stints with Middlesbrough (2017-18), Leeds United (2018-23, 2025-26) and Everton (2023-25). He has 50 goals and 42 assists in 338 career games.

New England (8-5-2, 26 points) is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Revolution returned from the FIFA World Cup break with a scoreless draw against visiting Toronto FC on Wednesday night.

–Field Level Media

Hall of Fame members Lauren Jackson and Elena Delle Donne headline a quartet of WNBA legends participating in Friday night’s Shooting Stars showcase in Chicago, part of the league’s All-Star weekend festivities.

Three-time MVP Jackson and two-time MVP Delle Donne will be joined by five-time WNBA champion Rebekkah Brunson and three-time champion Deanna “Tweety” Nolan, the league announced Thursday. The contest begins at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, Disney+ and the ESPN App.

Each of the retired stars will lead a three-person team alongside a current WNBA player and a standout high school player from Nike EYBL, bringing together three generations in one competition.

Jackson leads a Seattle team along with Storm rookie Flau’jae Johnson and Delle Donne’s Washington team includes Mystics center Shakira Austin. Brunson’s Minnesota squad features Lynx guard Courtney Williams, while Nolan will partner on the Detroit/Dallas team with Wings forward Jessica Shepard.

The high school players — Jezelle “GG” Banks, Ryan Carter, Tatianna Griffin and Morghan Reckley — have not yet been assigned to teams.

Shooting Stars is a timed, two-round shooting competition in which teams have 70 seconds to score as many points as possible from seven locations around the court, ranging from layups to long 3-pointers. The two teams with the most points in the first round advance to the championship round.

Also Thursday, guard-forward Kahleah Copper of the Phoenix Mercury was named as an injury replacement for Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum for Saturday’s WNBA All-Star Game.

This marks the fifth All-Star selection for Copper, 31, who ranks seventh in the league in scoring with a team-leading 20.5 points per game.

–Field Level Media