Perez hits 3-run HR in 7-run 1st inning as Royals rough up Scherzer in 20-1 win over Blue Jays

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer in Kansas City's seven-run first inning and the Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 20-1 on Friday night.

The Royals sent 10 batters to the plate against Max Scherzer (5-4), who exited after recording just two outs and allowing seven hits in the shortest non-injury start of his career. It was Scherzer’s shortest outing since facing just one batter while pitching for Washington on June 11, 2021, before leaving with an injury.

Following a homer by George Springer in the top of the first inning, the Royals quickly tied it in the bottom of the inning on Carter Jensen’s leadoff double and Bobby Witt Jr.’s RBI single. Witt scored on Vinnie Pasquantino’s double into the left field corner to give Kansas City the lead for good.

After a walk to Maikel Garcia – and Toronto pitching coach Pete Walker’s ejection – Perez connected for his 30th home run. Michael Massey’s two-run homer gave Kansas City a 7-1 lead.

Batting leadoff for the first time, Jensen hit three doubles – two against Scherzer in the first and a two-run double in the third. Jensen became the first Royals player with multiple doubles in the same inning.

Jac Caglianone hit a three-run homer in the seventh as the Royals had 10 runs and 13 hits in 1 1/3 innings against catcher Tyler Heineman. Infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa got the last two outs in the eighth inning.

Pasquantino had four of Kansas City’s franchise-record 27 hits, doubling twice as the Royals had with eight extra-base hits in the first three innings.

Royals starter Michael Lorenzen (6-11) gave up a run and three hits with three walks while striking out four in 7 2/3 innings for his first win since July 6.

Perez’s 30th home run matched Pasquantino for the club lead as the pair became the second Royals teammates to reach the mark, following Steve Balboni and George Brett in 1985.

Springer, celebrating his 36th birthday, hit his 63rd leadoff home run — second-most in major league history — and reached 30 homers for the first time since 2019.

Blue Jays RHP Shane Bieber (3-1, 3.72 ERA) goes against Royals LHP Noah Cameron (8-7, 2.98) on Saturday.

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

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals' Carter Jensen celebrates in the dugout after scoring on a single by Vinnie Pasquantino during the third inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Max Scherzer throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals' Carter Jensen celebrates on second after hitting a two-run double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez (13) celebrates as he crosses the plate after hitting a three-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Vote counting was underway Friday in Uganda’s tense presidential election, which was held a day earlier amid an internet shutdown, voting delays and complaints by an opposition leader who said some of his polling agents had been detained by the authorities.

Opposition leader Bobi Wine said Thursday he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.

Wine is hoping to end President Yoweri Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside his house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.

The musician-turned-politician wrote on X on Thursday that a senior party official in charge of the western region had been arrested, adding there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”

Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.

To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.

Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.

Museveni, after voting on Thursday, said the opposition had infiltrated the 2021 election and defended the use of biometric machines as a way of securing the vote in this election.

Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.

Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)