KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. hit the first of Kansas City's three home runs before leaving with a sore right knee, and the Royals smacked a club-record five doubles in a six-run second inning Thursday night on the way to a 14-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Jac Caglianone and Salvador Perez also went deep for the Royals, who set season highs for runs and hits (17). Each of the first eight batters in the starting lineup had at least one RBI.
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Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez, left, and pitcher Beck Way (44) celebrate after their baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals' Nick Loftin celebrates on second after hitting a two-run double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. talks to manager Matt Quatraro, right, and trainer Kyle Turner, left, after getting injured while fielding a single by St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker during the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. talks to manager Matt Quatraro, right, and trainer Kyle Turner, left, after getting injured while fielding a single by St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker during the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. celebrates in the dugout after scoring on a double by Starling Marte during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Witt homered in the first inning and delivered an RBI single in the second. But he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the fourth after making a sliding stop at shortstop in the top of the inning. The two-time All-Star was shaken up on the play and got checked out on the field by an athletic trainer.
Kansas City took a 7-2 lead in the second on the strength of five doubles — a team record for one inning. Carter Jensen, Isaac Collins, Lane Thomas and Starling Marte each had an RBI double. Perez led off with a two-bagger.
Caglianone hit a two-run shot to left-center in the fourth for his ninth homer this season. Nick Loftin doubled in two more runs.
Perez added his 10th home run in the sixth. It was his 137th at Kauffman Stadium, most in the ballpark’s history.
Royals starter Noah Cameron (4-4) threw 108 pitches in five innings. He gave up four runs, three earned, and eight hits.
Matthew Liberatore (3-4) was charged with seven runs — five earned — and seven hits in 1 2/3 innings.
RHP Seth Lugo (2-4, 3.86 ERA) returns to the Royals’ rotation Friday after spending the required seven days on the concussion injured list. He was hit in the head by a line drive last week. RHP Michael McGreevy (3-5, 2.99) pitches for the Cardinals in the second game of the series.
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Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez, left, and pitcher Beck Way (44) celebrate after their baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals' Nick Loftin celebrates on second after hitting a two-run double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. talks to manager Matt Quatraro, right, and trainer Kyle Turner, left, after getting injured while fielding a single by St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker during the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. talks to manager Matt Quatraro, right, and trainer Kyle Turner, left, after getting injured while fielding a single by St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker during the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. celebrates in the dugout after scoring on a double by Starling Marte during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
LONDON (AP) — Labour’s Andy Burnham, the current mayor of Greater Manchester, has won a special election for a seat in Parliament that puts him in a position to challenge embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer for leadership of the country.
Burnham decisively won the seat of Makerfield in northwest England over Rob Kenyon of the anti-immigration party Reform UK.
The victory announced early Friday cements the status of Burnham, a 56-year-old politician nicknamed the King of the North, as the top contender to replace Starmer as leader of the Labour Party and the country. Burnham won almost 55% of the 45,510 votes cast for a field of more than a dozen candidates, over 9,000 more than runner-up Kenyon.
Burnham’s victory speech left no doubt that he wants to lead the country, and not just be one of the more than 400 Labour lawmakers in the 650-seat House of Commons.
“Everyone knows that politics isn’t working," he said. "Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point.”
Starmer congratulated Burnham, writing on X that voters “chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate.”
But he insisted he would fight attempts to oust him.
“Yes, I will run, I will stand,” if there is a Labour leadership contest, Starmer said. "I’ve said repeatedly I’m not going to walk away from that.”
Burnham has led Manchester since 2017, overseeing rapid regeneration for the city where the Industrial Revolution was forged. He is pledging to repeat his signature brand of “Manchesterism” on a national scale.
Burnham said he would work to ensure that “the name Makerfield is forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs.”
He said Labour had “a final chance to change" and win back voters' trust.
“But it is a chance now, from this result tonight, to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States,” he said.
Starmer’s popularity has cratered since he led the center-left Labour Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024.
He has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as the U.K. ambassador to the United States.
Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party, and facing a rising Reform UK, which consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls. The Nigel Farage -led party has rapidly gained ground in post-industrial northern England areas like Makerfield, some 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of London.
Burnham’s resounding victory gives Labour new hope of stopping the Reform tide. Farage acknowledged he was “disappointed, no question about it,” with the result of Thursday’s vote.
A dismal performance by Labour in May’s local elections spurred scores of lawmakers to demand Starmer’s resignation. He has refused to budge, but senior colleagues are trying to force a change.
Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary in May, saying that “where we need vision, we have a vacuum.” Streeting has said he will run in a leadership contest if there is one.
Then Josh Simons, the Labour lawmaker for Makerfield, stepped down to trigger a special election and give Burnham the chance to return to Parliament.
Britain’s parliamentary system allows governing parties to change leaders midterm, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a national election. Under Labour rules, a lawmaker can challenge the leader if they have backing from a fifth of the party’s House of Commons lawmakers — a number that stands at 81.
The victorious Burnham will head to London to be sworn in as a lawmaker as soon as Monday. He’s likely to seek a meeting with Starmer to argue that the prime minister should exit gracefully and set a timetable for his departure.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Burnham and Starmer would in the next few days have to “have a conversation about what comes next.”
Labour lawmaker Louise Haigh, a Burnham ally, said Starmer should “do what’s best for both the country and the Labour Party” and “consider an orderly and managed transition.”
“Andy won’t be doing anything rash or hasty,” she told Sky News. “I’m really hopeful the prime minister and Andy can come to an agreement.”
Starmer has so far insisted he has no intention of leaving his post, saying he was elected on a “mandate for change” and would carry on with it.
Starmer suggested that he could offer Burnham a Cabinet post, telling Sky News on Wednesday that “I want him to have a big role in government.” Allies of Burnham indicated that he wasn’t interested.
Despite his stubborn determination, Starmer could be forced out if several members of the Cabinet tell him the game is up and quit, or threaten to quit, in protest.
There could then be a leadership contest, or a coronation, depending on whether other potential candidates think Burnham has an unassailable lead.
Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said “the pressure on Starmer will be very hard to resist” now that Burnham is back in Parliament.
Ford said defeating Reform UK in Makerfield strengthens Burnham’s claim to be Labour’s biggest asset.
“The narrative he can bring is, ‘No one else could have won that seat. I won that. I bring something unique. I bring an ability to renew our appeal,’” Ford said.
Labour party's Andy Burnham stands beside candidate Count Binface, left, and a candidate for Protect British Wildlife after winning the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Labour party's Andy Burnham speaks after winning the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Britain's Labour party's Andy Burnham leaves with his wife Marie-France Van Heel and their daughter Rosie after winning the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Vote counts started after the Makerfield by-election in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Labour party's Andy Burnham speaks after winning the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Britain's Reform Party leader Nigel Farage and local candidate Rob Kenyon ashake hands at a polling station during the by-election in Makerfield, England, Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Andy Burnham, Britain's Labour candidate for Makerfield, gestures in front of supporters during the by-election in Makerfield, England, Thursday, June 18, 2026 where voters are choosing a new lawmaker with Andy Burnham of the Labour Party as the leading contender.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Labour party candidate Andy Burnham arrives at the Edge Wigan for the Makerfield by-election result announcement in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
