Melendez's third home run of series lifts Royals over White Sox 5-3 for 4-game sweep

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — MJ Melendez hit his third home run of the series, a two-run drive in a three-run seventh inning as the Kansas City Royals rallied to beat Chicago White Sox 5-3 on Sunday for a four-game sweep.

“The way these all four of these games transpired — they were all close in the middle to late part of the game,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “To stick with it is really cool to see."

Chicago started 1-9 for just the second time in the 124-year history of the franchise after going 0-10 in 1968.

“We had a lot of opportunities to score,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol aid, “and we didn’t capitalize with the big hit. We should have brought that game home.”

Chicago ended a 19-inning scoreless streak in the fourth and led 3-0 in the fifth before Hunter Renroe's two-run homer off starter Garrett Crochet.

Melendez hit a two-run homer in the sixth off Deivi García (0-2) for a 4-3 lead, his third go-ahead hit of the series. Melendez flipped his bat in triumph.

He had a go-ahead, eight-inning single on Friday and a tiebreaking, seventh-inning homer on Saturday.

“Obviously, a little bit of luck right there," Melendez said. "I’m just thankful that I’m able to help do something to help the team win. It’s just pretty crazy.”

Kansas City added a run when Kyle Isbel reached on what was scored on an infield hit when reliever Dominic Leone failed to catch the throw to first from second baseman Lenyn Sosa.

John Schreiber (1-0) pitched a one-hit seventh and James McArthur got three outs for his second save as Kansas City completed its first four-game sweep since 2021.

Dominic Fletcher hit an RBI double in the fourth off Alec Marsh and scored on Braden Shewmake’s sacrifice fly, just the third multi-run inning of the season for the White Sox.

UP NEXT

White Sox: RHP Triston McKenzie (0-1, 10.80 ERA) starts for Cleveland in Monday's series opener against visiting Chicago.

Royals: LHP Cole Ragans (0-1, 1.46 ERA) opens Tuesday's series against visiting Houston.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

Chicago White Sox' Andrew Benintendi (23) beats the throw to score off a Dominic Fletcher triple during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Kansas City Royals' Hunter Renfroe (16) celebrates after his two-run home run with Bobby Witt Jr., left, during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Kansas City Royals pitcher Alec Marsh delivers from the mound during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Kansas City Royals' Hunter Renfroe, right celebrates after his two-run home run with Nelson Velázquez (17) during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Chicago White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet throws from the mound during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Chicago White Sox' Andrew Benintendi, right, scores off a Dominic Fletcher triple as Kansas City Royals catcher Freddy Fermin, left, catches a late throw during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Kansas City Royals' MJ Melendez (1) celebrates with Bobby Witt Jr., left, after hitting a two-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Kansas City Royals' MJ Melendez celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Tennessee from enforcing a law banning adults from helping minors get an abortion without parental permission.

In a 49-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger argued that the Republican-controlled state cannot “make it a crime to communicate freely” about legal abortion options even in a state where abortion is banned at all stages of pregnancy except for a handful of situations. Trauger's decision means that the law will be placed on hold as the case make its way through court.

“The Tennessee General Assembly apparently determined that, when the topic at hand is ‘abortion trafficking,’ the best interests of the pregnant child are not merely a secondary consideration, but unworthy of particularized consideration at all,” Trauger wrote.

Earlier this year, Tennessee’s Republican lawmakers and GOP Gov. Bill Lee signed off on a proposal making it illegal for an adult who “intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports” a pregnant child or teen within the state to get an abortion without consent from the minor’s parents or guardians. Those convicted of breaking the law risked being charged with a Class A misdemeanor, which requires a nearly one-year jail sentence.

The law, which went into effect July 1, did not contain exemptions for minors who may have been raped by their parents or guardians. Instead, the statute dictated that biological fathers who cause the pregnancy of their daughters, if minors, couldn't pursue legal actions.

The Tennessee law mimicked the so-called “ abortion trafficking ” law enacted in Idaho last year, the first state to ever enact such a statute. However, a federal judge has since temporarily blocked Idaho's version as the case moves through court.

Just before the law was poised to go into effect, Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn and Nashville attorney Rachel Welty filed a lawsuit on the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion.

Behn called the Tennessee ruling a “monumental victory for free speech and the fight for abortion rights.

“This ruling doesn't just protect Tennesseans — it safeguards the freedom to discuss abortion care across state lines, ensuring that we can continue to offer support, share accurate information, and stand up for the rights of those seeking essential health care everywhere,” she said.

A spokesperson for Attorney General's office, who was fighting to get the case dismissed, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Friday's ruling.

Trauger's decision sided with Welty and Behn's argument that the Tennessee law was "unconstitutionally vague,” specifically stressing that the word “recruits” is undefined in the statute.

Trauger also raised several First Amendment concerns in her explanation that her ruling would apply across the state, not just to Welty and Behn.

“The freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment is not simply a special protection that the Constitution grants to a few, high-profile speakers so that those speakers can hear themselves talk; it is a protection available to everyone, for the interconnected benefit of everyone, because messages do not gain their fullest power by being uttered, but by being spread,” Trauger wrote.

Tennessee bans abortions at all stages of pregnancy, but there are exemptions in cases of molar pregnancies, ectopic pregnancies, and to remove a miscarriage or to save the life of the mother. Notably, doctors must use their “reasonable medical” judgment — a term that some say is too vague and can be challenged by fellow medical officials — in deciding whether providing the procedure can save the life of the pregnant patient or prevent major injury.

A group of women is currently suing in a separate case to clarify the state’s abortion ban. A court decision is expected soon on whether the lawsuit can continue or if Tennessee's abortion ban can be placed on hold as the legal battle continues.

FILE - An. Abortion rights demonstrator holds a sign during a rally on May 14, 2022, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)