Max Scherzer works 6 innings and earns 2nd win as Blue Jays beat the Royals 4-2

TORONTO (AP) — Max Scherzer pitched one-run ball for six innings and earned his second win of the season, Bo Bichette added three hits and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Saturday.

Davis Schneider hit a two-run single for the AL East-leading Blue Jays, who came in having lost five of six.

Bichette hit an RBI single in the third inning and added base hits in the sixth and eighth. He leads the majors with 137 hits.

Scherzer (2-1) allowed one run and five hits, including a solo homer by Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez. The right-hander walked none and struck out five in picking up his first win since beating the Athletics on July 11.

Perez’s homer was his 20th. He has hit three homers off Scherzer, including his first in the majors in August 2011 against Detroit.

Brendon Little got two outs for Toronto, Seranthony Domínguez retired all four batters he faced and Jeff Hoffman finished for his 26th save in 30 chances.

Royals left-hander Noah Cameron (5-5) allowed four runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings, losing for the first time since June 27 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman was struck in the mask by a foul tip from Kansas City’s John Rave in the third, but stayed in the game and scored from second base on Schneider’s hit in the bottom half. Ali Sánchez replaced Heineman in the fourth. The Blue Jays said Heineman had a head contusion.

Schneider opened the scoring with a two-run single in the third and Bichette capped the three-run inning with a two-out hit.

Perez has nine 20-homer seasons with Kansas City, breaking George Brett’s franchise record.

Blue Jays RHP Chris Bassitt (11-5, 4.34 ERA) is scheduled to face Royals RHP Seth Lugo (8-5, 3.03) in Sunday’s series finale.

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

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Davis Schneider (36) heads to the dugout ahead of MLB baseball action against the Kansas City Royals in Toronto, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)

Kansas City Royals pitcher Noah Cameron (65) throws against the Toronto Blue Jays during second inning MLB baseball action in Toronto, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)

Kansas City Royals second base Jonathan India (6) reacts after being hit by a pitch from Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) during third inning MLB baseball action in Toronto, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) reacts as he heads back to the dugout after striking out against the Toronto Blue Jays during third inning MLB baseball action in Toronto, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) throws against the Kansas City Royals during first inning MLB baseball action in Toronto, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A state appeals court is being asked to dismiss felony voter misconduct charges against an Alaska resident born in American Samoa, one of numerous cases that have drawn attention to the complex citizenship status of people born in the U.S. territory.

In arguments Thursday, attorneys for Tupe Smith plan to ask the Alaska Court of Appeals in Anchorage to reverse a lower court's decision that let stand the indictment brought against her. Her supporters say she made an innocent mistake that does not merit charges, but the state contends Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship.

Prosecutors also have brought charges against 10 other people from American Samoa in the small Alaska community of Whittier, including Smith’s husband and her mother-in-law. American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil and instead are considered U.S. nationals. Paths to citizenship exist, such as naturalization, though that process can be expensive and cumbersome.

American Samoans can serve in the military, obtain U.S. passports and vote in elections in American Samoa, but they cannot hold public office in the U.S. or participate in most U.S. elections.

About 25 people gathered on a snowy street outside the courthouse before Thursday's hearing to support Smith. One woman, Fran Seager of Palmer, held a sign that said, “Support our Samoans. They are US nationals.”

Smith's husband, Michael Pese, thanked the American Samoa community in the Anchorage area. “If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t be strong enough to face this head on,” he said.

State Sen. Forrest Dunbar, a Democrat who attended the rally, said the Alaska Department of Law has limited resources.

“We should be going after people who are genuine criminals, who are violent criminals, or at least have the intent to deceive,” he said. “I do not think it is a good use of our limited state resources to go after these hardworking, taxpaying Alaskans who are not criminals.”

Smith was arrested after winning election to a regional school board in 2023. She said she relied on erroneous information from local election officials when she identified herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms.

In a court filing in 2024, one of her previous attorneys said that when Smith answered questions from the Alaska state trooper who arrested her, she said she was aware that she could not vote in presidential elections but was “unaware of any other restrictions on her ability to vote.”

Smith said she marks herself as a U.S. national on paperwork. But when there was no such option on voter registration forms, she was told by city representatives that it was appropriate to mark U.S. citizen, according to the filing.

Smith “exercised what she believed was her right to vote in a local election. She did so without any intent to mislead or deceive anyone,” her current attorneys said in a filing in September. “Her belief that U.S. nationals may vote in local elections, which was supported by advice from City of Whittier election officials, was simply mistaken.”

The state has said Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship. Prosecutors pointed to the language on the voter application forms she filled out in 2020 and 2022, which explicitly said that if the applicant was not at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, “do not complete this form, as you are not eligible to vote.”

The counts Smith was indicted on “did not have anything to do with her belief in her ability to vote in certain elections; rather they concerned the straightforward question of whether or not Smith intentionally and falsely swore she was a United States citizen,” Kayla Doyle, an assistant attorney general, said in court filings last year.

One of Smith's attorneys, Neil Weare, co-founder of the Washington-based Right to Democracy Project, said by email last week that if the appeals court lets stand the indictment, Alaska will be “the only state to our knowledge with such a low bar for felony voter fraud.”

Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.

Michael Pese and his wife, Tupe Smith, stand outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Michael Pese, left, his wife, Tupe Smith, and their son Maximus pose for a photo outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

FILE - Tupe Smith poses for a photo outside the school in Whittier, Alaska, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)