Perez breaks homer record, Revs win 40th game

• Andres Perez now has 60 homers with the York Revolution.
• The Revs wrapped up the first half of the Atlantic League season at 40-30.
• York earned a 14-7 triumph over Lancaster on Sunday.

Andres Perez tied and broke the franchise home run record with his 59th and 60th homers as the York Revolution socked 18 hits en route to a 14-7 shellacking of the Lancaster Barnstormers on Sunday afternoon at PeoplesBank Park. The Revs (40-30) wrapped up the first half by winning their first series of the year in the War of the Roses presented by PNC Bank over the Barnstormers (34-35).

The pair of blasts allowed Perez to tie and break Chris Nowak’s franchise record for home runs in a Revolution uniform. He adds that category to his mantle of Revs records, including hits, extra-base hits, total bases, doubles, RBIs, games, and at-bats. Perez boosted his marks in several categories on Sunday, going 4-for-5 with two homers, a double, five RBIs, and four runs.

Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth, Perez led off and unleashed on an 0-1 pitch and sent it soaring over the Arch Nemesis. The solo blast sparked a three run inning for the Revs, as Kevin Rivers followed with a triple and came in on a Brandon Chaves single. Jared Mitchell took Chaves’s place on first with a fielder’s choice, stealing second soon after and scoring on a Salvador Paniagua base hit.

The teams traded runs in the bottom of the seventh and top of the eighth as Chaves drove in a York run on a single and Sean Halton belted a homer to left to get it back for Lancaster.

Paniagua, Travis Witherspoon, and Michael Rockett led off the bottom of the eighth with a trio of singles, and Joel Guzman picked up his Atlantic League-leading 48th RBI by taking a pitch in the side to force in a run. A fly out brought Perez to the plate with the bases loaded and one out.

On a 3-2 pitch from Greg Smith, Dre cracked a line drive to left center that soared into the playground and into history, a grand slam for his 60th franchise home run. After receiving handshakes, hugs, and a water dousing on his way back to the dugout, Perez answered a curtain call to greet the Sunday crowd of 2,827 and send them off with an unforgettable performance.

Perez’s grand slam notched York’s season-best 14th run and 18th hit of the game.

Caleb Gindl singled home a run in the top of the ninth to give the game its final margin.

James Simmons (5-3) won his first game since May 26, holding back Lancaster for long enough for the Revs cavalry to arrive. Simmons allowed five runs on 10 hits in six innings, walking none and striking out five.

Bryan Evans (3-4) was dealt the loss after giving up seven runs on nine hits in five-plus innings.

York took an early 2-0 lead as Michael Burgess brought home a run with a first-inning fielder’s choice and Witherspoon went deep to center for a solo homer in the third.

Lancaster took the lead in the fourth on an RBI double by Halton and a two-run homer by K.C. Hobson to make it 3-2

The Revs countered with their own three-spot in the last of the fourth. Burgess led off with a scorching homer to right, followed by doubles from Perez and Rivers and a run-scoring single by Chaves.

Lancaster tied in the top of the fifth on a Gindl double and Mike Jacobs single, setting up the historic finish.

Six Revs, including Perez, had multi-hit games on the afternoon as eight of nine starters accounted for the season-high 18 hits. Chaves finished 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs, while Rivers finished a homer shy of the cycle, plating one run and scoring two.

Witherspoon and Rockett each went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs, and Paniagua went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Gindl and Jacobs each tallied three hits for the Barnstormers.

Notes: The Revs have won 40 games in a half for the sixth time in franchise history and second straight half. York is 80-59 dating back to the second half of last season, its best mark over two halves in franchise history. The 61 games York spent in first place are its most ever in one half. The Revs will begin the second half with a seven-game road trip, starting on Monday at Bridgeport. York’s Tony Pena (5-3, 4.47) will face the Bluefish’s Jonathan Albaladejo (6-3, 4.68) in the Fourth of July mid-afternoon showdown. Revs fans can catch the action live on SportsRadio 1350, woyk1350.com, and on the WOYK mobile app beginning at 3:52 p.m. with Darrell Henry on the call.