SAN DIEGO -- Hello, old friend.
Johnny Cueto helped the Kansas City Royals win the World Series last year, but his former teammates Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez didn't exactly shake hands with him or give him friendly hugs. Instead, they blasted second-inning home runs off Cueto. With one out, Hosmer lined a 1-1 cutter to left field for a 377-foot home run. After Mookie Betts singled, Perez blasted a 1-1 two-seam fastball out to left field for a 365-foot homer.
For Hosmer, an opposite-field home run isn't a rarity, as four of his 13 home runs have gone to left field. Perez has changed his approach at the plate this season, striking out more often but adding more power. After hitting a career-high 21 home runs in 2015, he already has 14 this season and is slugging .500, well above his career mark of .431 entering the season.
The two Royals became the first pair of teammates to homer in the All-Star Game since David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox in 2004, and the second pair of teammates to homer in the same innings (Steve Garvey and Jimmy Wynn of the Dodgers did it back-to-back off Vida Blue in 1975. Cueto had allowed two home runs in a game just once this season. When manager Terry Collins removed Cueto with two outs in the inning, Padres fans greeted the Giants right-hander with some boos as he trudged to the dugout. Guess they were disappointed that Cueto might have hurt the Padres' chances of having home-field advantage for the World Series.
