Leody Taveras hits first career grand slam and Orioles hold on for wild 7-5 win over Royals in 12

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Leody Taveras hit a grand slam during a five-run 12th inning, and the Baltimore Orioles held on for a wild 7-5 victory over the Royals on Monday night, handing Kansas City its eighth straight loss.

With the Orioles down to their last strike in the ninth inning, Samuel Basallo tied it at 1-all with Baltimore's second hit of the game, an RBI single that scored Dylan Beavers. Basallo then led off the 12th with a single off Alex Lange (0-2), scoring automatic runner Coby Mayo to make it 3-2. Jeremiah Jackson singled and Weston Wilson walked to load the bases for Taveras, whose first career slam traveled 419 feet to center field.

That sent Royals fans to the exits, but Kansas City made it interesting in the bottom half when Nick Loftin hit a bases-clearing double off Cameron Foster. The rookie then retired the next three batters, striking out Kyle Isbel to end it.

In the 11th, the Orioles were also down to their last strike when Beavers singled off John Schreiber to score automatic runner Blaze Alexander for a 2-1 lead. Bobby Witt Jr. tied it in the bottom half with a two-out, two-strike RBI single off Anthony Nunez (1-0).

Seth Lugo allowed one hit in seven innings for the Royals and left with a 1-0 lead thanks to Jac Caglianone's first home run of the season — a one-out 437-foot shot to right field in the second.

Lugo, who lowered his ERA to 1.15, walked Gunnar Henderson before picking him off first base to begin the game. Taylor Ward followed with his 12th double, which leads the majors, but the Orioles didn't get another hit until the ninth. Lugo struck out seven and walked four.

Kansas City loaded the bases with one out in the first and nobody out in the third off against Kyle Bradish but failed to score. Bradish gave up one run on 10 hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings.

Kansas City stranded 11 baserunners in the first six innings and 16 for the game. The Royals outhit the Orioles 14-6.

Orioles RHP Shane Baz (0-2, 4.91 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite Royals LHP Kris Bubic (2-1, 3.97).

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

Baltimore Orioles' Leody Taveras celebrates after hitting a grand slam during the 12th inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Baltimore Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo, left, and relief pitcher Cameron Foster celebrate after their baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Baltimore Orioles outfielders Leody Taveras, left, Taylor Ward (3) and Blaze Alexander, right, run off the field after their baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel can't get to a grand slam hit by Baltimore Orioles' Leody Taveras during the 12th inning of a baseball game Monday, April 20, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Baltimore Orioles' Leody Taveras watches his grand slam during the 12th inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

MAISONS-ALFORT, France (AP) — A wildlife hospital in a southeastern Paris suburb is a place of no cuddles but lots of care. It helps injured, sick and orphaned animals — often victims of human activity and increasing urbanization — heal so they can return to their natural habitat.

Last week, a female fox cub was found alone in a garden on the city's outskirts, with no sign of her mother nearby. Now a team of volunteers takes care of her around the clock.

“We’ll make sure she’s eating well,” animal caretaker Valentin Delon said. “If that’s not the case, we might provide supplemental bottles to ensure she gains enough weight.”

Over the past year, the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort has taken in more than 10,400 wild animals, including a wide variety of birds and European mammals such as foxes, deer and hedgehogs.

Like the little brown-furred cub, the animals can easily capture a caretaker's heart — but bonding with humans is not an option when the goal is to eventually return them to the wild.

The baby fox was found by residents who own hunting dogs. Estimated to be about 2 weeks old, she was far too young to survive on her own.

At the Maisons-Alfort hospital, veterinarian Julie Piazza carefully examined her and aside from a minor injury, possibly caused by a wild animal or a dog’s bite, she was found to be in good health.

The cub was fed artificial milk — a product matching the composition of animal-produced milk — and because of that, her abdomen was swollen, Piazza said.

"That’s common in a young one that has had a disruption in its diet,” she added.

Once healed, the animals are transferred to outdoor enclosures and aviaries to prepare for a reintroduction into their natural environment.

Delon, the caretaker, says that “any kind of imprinting” — measures that attach the animals to their caregiver long-term — must be avoided.

“So we don’t cuddle them, we don’t talk to them,” she said. "There’s really a distance to maintain for their own good in the end, so they can be released later.”

Because she is just a cub, once she grows sufficiently, the baby fox will first be transferred to a rehabilitation center and placed with other foxes in an enclosure.

“We can’t just release her into the wild like that,” Delon said. “She really needs to go into an enclosure first, and then gradually we’ll open the door so she can come and go while still being fed. Then we’ll gradually reduce the food, and that’s how we achieve a truly gradual release.”

The hospital ran by the Faune Alfort group is the only facility in the greater Paris area that treats a wide range of wild species. Some 86% of its patients are birds.

Last week, there was a swan with a broken wing, injured hedgehogs, dozens of ducklings often found on balconies and elsewhere without parents, and lots of pigeons that are treated just as carefully as rarer birds.

Elisa Mora, head of communications for Faune Alfort, a nonprofit group running the Maisons-Alfort hospital, said a record 200 admissions were reported in a single day last summer. The hospital is mostly financed by donations from individuals and charities, and relies on volunteers to help feed and care for the animals.

April to September is the "juvenile period when wild animals reproduce” and the admissions peak, Mora said.

“Wild animals are already vulnerable, but juveniles even more so,” she said. Those too badly injured or unable to return to the wild have to be euthanized.

Veterinarian Jean-François Courreau launched Faune Alfort in 1987, inspired by students willing to better treat wild animals. Six years later, the idea turned into a proper hospital, hosted by the National Veterinary School of Alfort, established in the 18th century.

“It’s hard to stand by helplessly in front of an animal in distress without being able to do anything," Courreau said, adding that it's his duty to help as a vet.

When people find a wild animal in distress, they think “I can’t do anything, and the animal is going to die," he said. "So when they know a care center exists and that they can bring the animal there, it’s a huge relief.”

The vast majority of animals brought to the hospital — as many as 60% to 80% of admissions — are victims of road collisions, animals caught in barbed wire or injured by people using gardening tools or agricultural machinery, among other causes.

An animal caretaker treats a baby fox at the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort, outside Paris, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

A pigeon is treated at the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort, outside Paris, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Baby ducks are bathed at the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort, outside Paris, April 17, 2026 . (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Volunteers treat a swan at the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort, outside Paris, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

An animal caretaker treats a baby fox at the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort, outside Paris, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)