Bobby Witt Jr. powers Royals past Brewers 6-4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. hit a home run and scored three times to lead the Kansas City Royals over the Milwaukee Brewers 6-4 on Wednesday.

Both starting pitchers struggled out of the gate but settled down and limited the damage. The Royals' Brady Singer (3-1) allowed one run on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four. Joe Ross (1-4) allowed three runs on three hits in five-plus innings, walking two and striking out two.

“I think the sinker had a lot of action on it,” Singer said. “I was able to locate that pretty well, get it in on the lefthanders. I wanted to go deeper in the game, but the first two innings the pitch count was pretty high.”

James McArthur picked up his eighth save after blowing his last two chances.

“We thought we had a chance to not have to bring him in, but clearly we needed to,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “He came in and executed right off the bat. He only had to throw three pitches.”

The Brewers opened the first with back-to-back doubles by Brice Turang and William Contreras to grab a 1-0 lead.

The Royals answered with back-to-back doubles by Maikel Garcia and Witt, but didn't score until Vinnie Pasquantino's sacrifice fly. Witt's double looked like a flyout to center, keeping Garcia at second. But Blake Perkins slipped in center and the ball dropped untouched. Michael Massey's sacrifice fly scored Witt to give KC a 2-1 lead.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy wasn't lamenting the mistakes after the game.

“They're all winnable,” he said. “You make mistakes and then it piles on. Give them credit, they capitalized when they had to. But we had a couple of things happen to us early. But there were a lot of good things today, too. Gary Sanchez continues to have great at-bats. Joe Ross pitched good.”

After both starters settled down, Massey got his second sacrifice fly in the sixth, scoring Witt. The sacrifice fly isn't as glamorous as an RBI hit, but the runs help.

“It's knowing the situation and getting a pitch you can do something with,” Quatraro said. “You have to understand that you don't have to do too much. Both Vinnie and Massey had big at-bats.”

Sanchez connected for his fifth home run leading off the seventh for Milwaukee. With one out and a runner at second, Turang lined one to left, but Oliver Dunn was thrown out at the plate by left fielder MJ Melendez.

“I'm just trying to find a way to help this team win,” said Melendez, who entered the game hitting .185 and struck out in his two at-bats. “Obviously I'm not getting the job done on offense. I'm trying to make up for it on the other side of the ball.”

His contributions have not gone unnoticed by his teammates.

“I think he's got one of the best arms out there,” Witt said. “His accuracy is unbelievable. It's great to see him out there doing his thing.”

Witt hit his first home run since April 11 leading off the eighth.

“That was a slider,” Witt said. “Those are the pitches you're supposed to hit out when they back up like that.”

Adam Frazier and Freddy Fermin added RBI singles. The Brewers got two runs in the ninth.

Christian Yelich went 0 for 5 for the Brewers in his first game back from a low back strain.

TRAINING ROOM

Royals: RHP Alec Marsh is eligible to come off the IL on Friday. Manager Matt Quatraro said Marsh is on schedule to start for the Royals in Anaheim.

UP NEXT

Brewers: return to Milwaukee to start a four-game series with the Cardinals. Milwaukee will hand the ball to RHP Tobias Myers (0-2, 6.23 ERA). The Cardinals have not announced their starter.

Royals: will begin a four-game series in Anaheim on Thursday. RHP Michael Wacha (1-4, 5.50 ERA) will start for KC against LHP Reid Detmers (3-3, 4.24 ERA).

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

Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Blake Perkins catches a one-run sacrifice fly hit by Kansas City Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Joe Ross throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Joe Ross throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras hits an RBI double during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr., left, runs past Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras to score on a sacrifice fly hit by Michael Massey during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a new encampment at Drexel University in Philadelphia over the weekend, prompting a lockdown of school buildings, a day after authorities thwarted an attempted occupation of a school building at the neighboring University of Pennsylvania campus.

After several hundred demonstrators marched from Philadelphia’s City Hall to west Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, Drexel said in a statement that about 75 protesters began to set up an encampment on the Korman Quad on the campus. About a dozen tents remained Sunday, blocked off by barricades and monitored by police officers. No arrests were reported.

Drexel President John Fry said in a message Saturday night that the encampment “raises understandable concerns about ensuring everyone’s safety,” citing what he called “many well-documented instances of hateful speech and intimidating behavior at other campus demonstrations.” University buildings were on lockdown and were “open only to those with clearance from Drexel’s Public Safety,” he said.

Drexel authorities were “closely monitoring” the demonstration to ensure that it was peaceful and didn’t disrupt normal operations, and that “participants and passersby will behave respectfully toward one another,” Fry said.

“We will be prepared to respond quickly to any disruptive or threatening behavior by anyone,” Fry said, vowing not to tolerate property destruction, “harassment or intimidation” of students or staff or threatening behavior of any kind, including “explicitly racist, antisemitic, or Islamophobic” speech. Anyone not part of the Drexel community would not be allowed “to trespass into our buildings and student residences,” he said.

On Friday night, members of Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine had announced an action at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fisher-Bennett Hall, urging supporters to bring “flags, pots, pans, noise-makers, megaphones” and other items.

The university said campus police, supported by city police, removed the demonstrators Friday night, arresting 19 people, including six University of Pennsylvania students. The university’s division of public safety said officials found “lock-picking tools and homemade metal shields,” and exit doors secured with zip ties and barbed wire, windows covered with newspaper and cardboard and entrances blocked.

Authorities said seven people arrested would face felony charges, including one accused of having assaulted an officer, while a dozen were issued citations for failing to disperse and follow police commands.

The attempted occupation of the building came a week after city and campus police broke up a two-week encampment on the campus, arresting 33 people, nine of whom were students and two dozen of whom had “no Penn affiliation,” according to university officials.

Dozens of George Washington University graduates walked out of commencement ceremonies, disrupting university President Ellen Granberg’s speech, in protest over the ongoing siege of Gaza and last week’s clearing of an on-campus protest encampment that involved police use of pepper spray and dozens of arrests.

The ceremony, at the base of the Washington Monument, started peacefully with fewer than 100 protestors demonstrating across the street in front of the Museum of African American History and Culture. But as Granberg began speaking, at least 70 students among the graduates started chanting and raising signs and Palestinian flags. The students then noisily walked out as Granberg spoke, crossing the street to a rapturous response from the protesters.

Students and others have set up tent encampments on campuses around the country to protest the Israel-Hamas war , pressing colleges to cut financial ties with Israel. Tensions over the war have been high on campuses since the fall but demonstrations spread quickly following an April 18 police crackdown on an encampment at Columbia University.

Nearly 3,000 people have been arrested on U.S. campuses over the past month. As summer break approaches, there have been fewer new arrests and campuses have been calmer. Still, colleges have been vigilant for disruptions to commencement ceremonies.

President Joe Biden told the graduating class at Morehouse College on Sunday, which included some students wearing keffiyeh scarves around their shoulders on top of their black graduation robes, that he heard their voices of protest and scenes from the conflict in Gaza have been heartbreaking. He said given what he called a “humanitarian crisis” there, he had called for “an immediate cease-fire” and return of hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

The latest Israel-Hamas war began when Hamas and other militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking an additional 250 hostage. Palestinian militants still hold about 100 captives, and Israel’s military has killed more than 35,000 people in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.

President Joe Biden receives an honorary degree at the Morehouse College commencement Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside the gates to the courtyard at the University of Pennsylvania Museum on Friday, May 17, 2024 in Philadelphia. Authorities say a half-dozen University of Pennsylvania students were among 19 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested during an attempt to occupy a building on campus. University police say seven remained in custody Saturday awaiting felony charges from Friday's incident, including one person who allegedly assaulted an officer. (Charles Fox/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

A protester is taken into custody at S. 34th St. near University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia on Friday, May 17, 2024. Authorities say a half-dozen University of Pennsylvania students were among 19 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested during an attempt to occupy a building on campus. University police say seven remained in custody Saturday awaiting felony charges from Friday's incident, including one person who allegedly assaulted an officer. (Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)