JJ Wetherholt hits 2 homers as the Cardinals beat the Royals 12-10 to avoid a sweep

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — JJ Wetherholt hit two home runs and had three RBIs as the St. Louis Cardinals avoided a series sweep with a 12-10 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

Masyn Winn hit a three-run homer in the Cardinals' five-run first inning and Iván Herrera hit a three-run home run in the fifth for a 12-7 lead.

Wetherholt went 3 for 5 with a leadoff home run and a two-run home run in the second. Winn also hit an RBI single in the second for four RBIs.

Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson hit RBI singles as St. Louis had a season-high 16 hits.

The Royals rallied after entering the bottom of the second down 9-2.

Nick Loftin and Jac Caglianone hit two-run homers to make it 9-6 in the second. Caglianone’s 444-foot home run into the second level of the right-field Kauffman Stadium fountain extended his home run streak to three games. Caglianone hit a solo home run in the ninth for his team-leading 12th of the year.

Salvador Perez hit an RBI single in the fourth. Carter Jensen hit a solo home run in the sixth. Perez scored on a fielder’s choice in the ninth, avoiding a tag and touching home.

St. Louis starter Dustin May allowed six runs in two innings. St. Louis used seven relievers with Gordon Graceffo (5-1) pitching one inning for the win.

Stephen Kolek (4-2) gave up nine runs on nine hits with one walk and one hit batter in 1 1/3 innings.

Bobby Witt Jr. was out of the lineup for the Sunday series finale after leaving Thursday’s game with a grade-1 MCL Sprain. Witt will be reevaluated on Monday.

The Royals visit Tampa Bay on Monday with RHP Michael Wacha (4-5, 3.64 ERA) scheduled to start for KC. St. Louis returns home to face Arizona on Monday. RHP Andre Pallante (8-4, 3.76) is slated to take the mound for the Cardinals.

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Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Stephen Kolek throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals' Michael Massey (19) beats the tag by St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt to steal second during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Max Rajcic throws during the third inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals right fielder Lane Thomas chases a single hit by St. Louis Cardinals' Alec Burleson during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

St. Louis Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt (26) celebrates with third base coach Ron 'pop' Warner (75) after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Political outsider Abelardo de la Espriella held a razor-thin lead in Colombia’s presidential election with nearly all the votes counted Sunday, in a runoff vote marked by people’s fears of a renewed internal conflict.

A victory by de la Espriella would effectively be an indictment of the policies of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, whose protégé had promised to continue his agenda if he defeated his rival.

De la Espriella, a business owner and lawyer who earned U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement despite never having run for office, led progressive lawmaker Iván Cepeda taking 49.7% of the votes, with 99.9% complete results released by electoral authorities. Cepeda, Petro’s ally, earned 48.7% support. Election officials have not formally announced a winner.

Cepeda said his team will challenge results from more than 30,000 voting stations; Petro also vowed to challenge the outcome.

No recount has flipped the results of a presidential election in Colombian history.

People in the streets of Bogota yelled “Petro out! Petro out!” and honked car horns.

Both candidates pitched voters widely different strategies to prevent the South American country from experiencing the nonstop merciless violence, such as car bombs, kidnappings, disappearances and forced displacements, that Colombians lived with in previous decades.

De la Espriella, 47, promised a heavy-handed approach to crime-fighting, including drug trafficking. He also said he plans to end Petro’s attempts to establish parallel peace negotiations with multiple armed groups – an effort that has largely failed – and build mega-prisons, emulating Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele aggressive policies. Those tactics have lowered homicide rates in the Central American country but have fueled accusations of human rights abuses.

De la Espriella, nicknamed “The Tiger,” holds dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship. He's a Trump supporter and a member of the Republican Party.

“We have had an armed conflict and a drug trafficking problem for too long, and this has greatly polarized the country,” retired economist Víctor Duque, 72, said while wearing a national soccer team jersey at a voting center in the capital, Bogota. “I believe it is one of the most important elections that has taken place in Colombia this century.”

In the first round, Cepeda earned 41% of the vote, while de la Espriella garnered 44%, according to official results. Petro, without evidence, sowed doubts in the results after Cepeda, who had consistently lead polls ahead of the May vote, did not win outright and even finished behind de la Espriella.

Yolanda Hernández, 49, voted early Sunday before she started selling black-ink pens outside a Bogota voting center. Clients, she said, buy the pens because ink cannot be erased from paper ballots, which reduces the possibility of fraud.

Hernández, who recycles trash for a living, voted for Petro in 2022, but cast her ballot for de la Espriella this time. While she acknowledged that Petro was unable to deliver on promises meant to help the poor because of congressional gridlock, she said Colombia cannot afford another four years under his vision for the country.

“We want change in Colombia because it’s always the same violence, always the same thing,” Hernández said. “(Petro) said he was going to lower the cost of services, that he was going to lower the price of food, and everything is more expensive.”

The election comes 10 years after Colombia signed a historic peace pact with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, that had offered hope to break the nation’s vicious cycle of fighting between rebel groups and the government.

But violence has since roared back, particularly as most rebel groups abandoned their ideologically driven fight for the financial benefits of drug trafficking.

Last year, authorities recorded 14,780 homicides, the most since at least 2015 and driven by clashes among illegal armed groups. Among those killed was conservative presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe. Extortions have also soared, reaching 13,417 cases in 2025, more than double the number tallied in 2015.

De la Espriella, a political newcomer nicknamed “The Tiger,” promised to fiercely go after criminals and build 10 mega-prisons, emulating the policies of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele that have lowered homicide rates but have fueled accusations of human rights abuses.

Cepeda said he will carry on Petro's fraught signature plan to achieve “total peace” by negotiating pacts with guerrillas and criminal gangs. The heavily criticized strategy that Petro kicked off in 2022 took until Thursday to see the first armed group — one with about 100 members — give up its weapons and begin a resettlement process that will lead to their reintegration into civilian life. Colombia's illegal groups have more than 27,000 members.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Presidents Javier Milei of Argentina and Daniel Noboa of Ecuador were among the political leaders to first congratulate de la Espriella.

"The Trump Administration looks forward to working closely with your incoming administration to advance regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States, and strengthen our economic ties," Rubio said on X. “Colombia's best days are ahead.”

Presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda of the ruling Historic Pact coalition embraces his vice-presidential running mate, Aida Quilcue, during an election night appearance after election results showed him trailing in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A supporter of presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella of the opposition Defenders of the Motherland movement light a flare at a celebration rally after polls closed in the runoff election in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella of the opposition Defenders of the Motherland movement and his vice-presidential running mate, Jose Manuel Restrepo, ride in a bulletproof booth toward a celebration rally after election results showed him leading in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Supporters of presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda of the ruling Historic Pact coalition react to preliminary election results at his campaign headquarters after polls closed in the runoff election in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Supporters of presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella of the opposition Defenders of the Motherland movement celebrate early result after polls closed in the runoff election in Cali, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella of the opposition Defenders of the Motherland movement arrives to vote in the runoff election in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. ((AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

An electoral official calls the next voter in line during the presidential runoff election in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026.(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda of the ruling Historic Pact coalition waves after voting in the runoff election in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A voter marks his ballot in a classroom decorated with flags of countries participating in the World Cup serving as a polling station during the presidential runoff election in Santander de Quilichao, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Voters line up during the runoff presidential election in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Colombian President Gustavo Petro shows a ballot during the runoff election in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A voter waits in line with her dog, which is wearing a Colombia soccer team jersey and has its face painted as a tiger, at a polling station during the runoff election in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella of the opposition Defenders of the Motherland movement arrives to vote with his family during the runoff election in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

A voter wearing a national soccer team jersey waits for his turn to cast his ballot during the runoff election in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella stands before supporters from inside a bulletproof booth during his campaign rally in Buga, Colombia, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Supporters of presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella attend his campaign rally in Buga, Colombia, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Historic Pact coalition presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda waves during a campaign rally in Bogota, Colombia, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Supporters of Historic Pact coalition presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda attend his campaign rally in Bogota, Colombia, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)