Royals hold off Twins 6-5 after star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. exits with sore knee

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Starling Marte hit a three-run homer to back six strong innings from Noah Cameron, and the Kansas City Royals held off the Minnesota Twins 6-5 on Sunday to take three of four games in the series.

Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. left in the seventh with right knee soreness after going 0 for 4. He struck out three times one day after driving in the go-ahead run in the ninth.

Minnesota scored four times in the ninth inning Sunday, including Josh Bell's three-run homer, before Lucas Erceg retired Brooks Lee with a runner on second for the final out.

Marte launched his first home run in his first season with Kansas City, capping a four-run fifth and helping the Royals finish a 5-5 trip that started with three straight losses at Texas.

Cameron (3-4) allowed just three hits and an unearned run. He struck out seven, including all three batters in a shutdown fifth.

Kody Clemens singled off Cameron to begin the second and stole second. Clemens advanced on Witt's fielding error and scored on Ryan Kreidler's forceout.

Twins rookie Connor Prielipp (2-4) went 4 1/3 innings in his ninth start, allowing two runs and four hits, including back-to-back doubles by Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Loftin that tied it 1-all in the fourth.

Andrew Morris entered and gave up a single to Lane Thomas before Witt struck out looking after a failed ABS challenge for the second out. Maikel Garcia followed with a go-ahead single before Marte homered to make it 5-1.

Pasquantino singled in the eighth before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Carter Jensen.

Making his second big league appearance, Royals reliever Beck Way was charged with four runs in the ninth. He got just one out and allowed Bell's sixth homer that cut it to 6-4.

Erceg gave up Victor Caratini's RBI single that pulled the Twins within a run before retiring Lee on a fly to left field for his 12th save in 18 opportunities.

The Twins will start RHP Taj Bradley (5-2, 3.56 ERA) in Tuesday's opener at Detroit opposite RHP Troy Melton (2-0, 1.74).

The Royals will start RHP Stephen Kolek (3-1, 3.32 ERA) in Tuesday's opener against RHP Nathan Eovaldi (5-6, 4.10) and the visiting Texas Rangers.

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

Minnesota Twins pitcher Andrew Morris wipes his face as he walks off the field during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Kansas City Royals center fielder Lane Thomas, middle, and second baseman Michael Massey celebrate their teams win against the Minnesota Twins after a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Noah Cameron delivers against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Kansas City Royals designated hitter Starling Marte watches his three-run home run against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Kansas City Royals designated hitter Starling Marte hits a three-run home run against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran launched missiles at Israel in the first such bombardment since a fragile ceasefire took effect in early April, raising the possibility of a return to heavy fighting and complicating mediation efforts to end the war.

Iran’s state broadcaster confirmed the launches, and Iran closed its western airspace to brace for a possible response. Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning earlier Sunday in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down. Israel said the Iranian-backed Hezbollah fired at northern Israel earlier in the day.

"Should these acts of aggression be repeated, the responses will be broader in scope and will encompass all American and Zionist targets throughout the region,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that referenced attacks in Lebanon and on Iran’s coast and vessels around the Strait of Hormuz.

Sirens sounded in several areas of Israel, sending millions running for shelter. Israel’s military said it intercepted the missiles, and multiple explosions were heard in the north. Less than an hour later, the military said people could leave areas reinforced against missile attacks.

“Iran has made a grave mistake,” Israel military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said. The military's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said it will “strike the enemy with determination as soon as the order is given.”

But Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, said U.S. President Donald Trump told it that he doesn’t think Israel needs to respond further.

Iran had warned that an attack on Beirut would renew full-scale war across the Mideast, even as Pakistan and other mediators try to restart talks between Tehran and Washington.

“U.S. forces across the Middle East remain vigilant and ready,” the U.S. Central Command posted on X shortly before the missile launches. The U.S. Embassy in Israel later directed employees and family members to shelter in place.

Israel’s attack on Beirut came a few days after the Lebanese and Israeli governments agreed to a ceasefire in U.S.-hosted talks, though Hezbollah rejected the deal. The strike on a residential building killed two people and wounded 20, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

“The army will continue to act in all of Lebanon," the Israel military spokesperson said.

Israel’s strikes and ground invasion in Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah, and the militant group’s resistance to disarming, have complicated an overall deal to end the war in the Middle East.

Iran says any deal must include an end to fighting in Lebanon.

Trump told a Fox News Channel reporter that he wanted the Iranians to stop firing missiles and return to the negotiating table. He also said that Israel’s strikes earlier Sunday were not coordinated with the U.S. and “I’m not happy about it.”

Israel on Monday had announced it would strike the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, but urgent talks via Washington halted that on the condition that Hezbollah stop targeting Israeli border towns.

Hezbollah, which claimed responsibility for firing at Israel earlier Sunday, wants the direct talks between Lebanon and Israel to end. Instead, it supports Iran’s stance that an overall ceasefire deal between Tehran and Washington include the situation in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who seeks reelection later this year, is under heavy domestic pressure to respond to both Iran and the Hezbollah threat, which has paralyzed life for thousands of residents along Israel’s northern border.

But Trump has made clear he does not want to see the war resume.

Trump said earlier Sunday in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would like to see a “more surgical attack on Hezbollah.” He also said he was “not demanding” that Lebanon be part of an overall ceasefire deal in the Iran war.

Iran continues to assert its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. continues its blockade of Iranian ports, with shipments of oil, natural gas and fertilizer affected and the global economy in pain.

Iran since the ceasefire took effect has launched missiles and drones at Gulf nations and said it was targeting the U.S. military presence. After its launches against Israel, Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority announced that the country’s airspace would close for 72 hours and Syria’s aviation authority announced a 12-hour airspace closure.

All flights from Tehran’s main international airport were suspended, the civil aviation authority said, according to the official Mizan news agency.

Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, was in Tehran on Sunday delivering a message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei from Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. There were no details on the message's contents.

Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was named the Islamic Republic’s ruler after his father was killed on Feb. 28 as Israeli and U.S. strikes sparked the war.

Pakistani authorities have said Islamabad, with support from regional countries including Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, is working to help bridge differences.

In Cairo, the Egyptian and Qatari foreign ministers discussed “proposed elements” of a potential agreement between the U.S. and Iran, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, without details.

And after Iran's missile launches at Israel, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with counterparts in France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Egypt and Turkey as well as Pakistan’s army chief, Iran's state TV said.

Chehayeb reported from Beirut, Magdy from Cairo, Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Anna from Lowville, New York. Associated Press writers Hassan Ammar in Lebanon, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Matthew Lee in Washington, Abby Sewell in Beirut, and Michelle L. Price in Bridgewater, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

A demonstrator waves an Iranian flag in a pro-government gathering in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Israeli security forces examine a fragment of an intercepted Iranian missile in northern Israel, early Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Rami Shlush)

Pro-government Iranian demonstrators wave flags from Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A projectile streaks through the sky over central Israel during an Iranian missile attack, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Lebanese intelligence officers look at an unexploded missile, centre, at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese security officers gather at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Relatives of the Lebanese soldier Hussein Nazzal, who was killed Saturday in south Lebanon along with a brigadier general and a captain in an Israeli airstrike, mourn during his funeral procession in Beirut, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A mourner touches the coffin of the Lebanese army Brig. Gen. Wissam Sabra, who was killed Saturday in south Lebanon along with a captain and a soldier in an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession in Beirut, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Municipality workers use a skid loader as they remove the rubble of destroyed apartments that where hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The mother, center, and the wife, left, of the Lebanese Brig. Gen. Wissam Sabra, who was killed Saturday in south Lebanon along with a captain and a soldier in an Israeli airstrike, mourn during his funeral procession in Beirut, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese security officers gather at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese army soldiers carry the coffin of Brig. Gen. Wissam Sabra, who was killed Saturday in south Lebanon along with a captain and a soldier in an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A relative of the Lebanese soldier Hassan Nazzal, who was killed Saturday in south Lebanon along with a brigadier general and a captain in an Israeli airstrike, mourns as she holds his portrait during his funeral procession in Beirut, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Army soldiers carry the coffin of Brig. Gen. Wissam Sabra, who was killed Saturday in south Lebanon along with a captain and a soldier in an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession in Beirut, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man walks past anti-U.S. graffiti painted on the wall of the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People walk under a banner showing portraits of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, and the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)