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Kansas City Royals pitcher Michael Wacha reached career milestone against Twins

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Kansas City Royals pitcher Michael Wacha reached career milestone against Twins


Kansas City Royals pitcher Michael Wacha addressed his teammates after Sunday’s victory over the Minnesota Twins.

It was a special moment for the 12-year veteran right-hander. He had just earned his 100th career win after throwing seven shutout innings at Kauffman Stadium.

“We do a little postgame celebration-type stuff and the captain (Salvador Perez) had me talk a little bit,” Wacha said. “Just expressing to them, ‘Hey, the wins get put by my name, but there is a lot of people that contribute to those.’”

Obtained in the offseason, Wacha has spearheaded the Royals’ pitching resurgence in 2024. The club counts on him to provide a professional start every fifth day. Sunday was the third start in which he’s thrown seven or more scoreless innings.

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The Twins were unable to break through offensively all afternoon. Wacha avoided trouble in the first inning thanks to a terrific relay and play at the plate — the Twins’ baserunner and would-be scorer was thrown out.

Wacha settled in after that and struck out seven as KC earned a three-game series sweep. He improved to 11-3 with a 2.62 ERA in his last 19 starts. He has allowed two runs or fewer in 15 of those outings.

“I feel like the ball has been coming out good this year,” he said. “Working with our staff here, talking with a bunch of our pitchers and developing new pitches as well. It’s been a lot of playing here.”

Wacha developed a slider and it’s proven to be an effective pitch. It has commanded a 40.3% whiff rate this season and its usage has helped him unlock other pitches.

Wacha’s full pitching arsenal was on display against the Twins. He used his changeup to get 23 swings and 12 whiffs Sunday afternoon.

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“The effectiveness of his fastball had extra carry and his changeup was outstanding,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “… Credit to him, he’s had a great career.”

Wacha is the 20th active pitcher to reach 100 career wins.

“It’s super special, especially for him,” Perez said. “We know what kind of pitcher he is. He likes to compete and he likes to play hard. And he does everything to try to help the team to win.”

The Royals concluded their six-game homestand with four wins. Wacha is in line to pitch next weekend against the Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh after a series in New York against the Yankees.



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Salvador Perez attended the Ecaudor-Curaçao match at Arrowhead. So did other royals — from the Netherlands

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Salvador Perez attended the Ecaudor-Curaçao match at Arrowhead. So did other royals — from the Netherlands


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Royals captain Salvador Perez, along with teammates Starling Marte and Carter Jensen, attended Saturday evening’s World Cup match at Arrowhead Stadium.

So did some other royals!

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands began Saturday by cheering the Dutch past Sweden in Houston.

The monarchs ended the day by watching Curacao make some history against Ecuador in Kansas City.

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Netherlands King Willem-Alexander, left, Queen Máxima and Princess Ariane, right, watch the World Cup Group E soccer match between Ecuador y Curacao in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)(Ed Zurga | AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

The small island nation of Curacao is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and that makes King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima the heads of state. So, after a quick flight north Saturday, the royal couple dutifully swapped out their bright orange scarves of Het Oranje Legioen they wore to their earlier match with bright blue ones for The Blue Wave.

Curacao, the smallest World Cup team in population and size, made its tournament debut last Sunday in a 7-1 loss to Germany. But it bounced back from that defeat to earn a 0-0 draw with La Tri and earn its first-ever point in the tournament.

“It is an extra-special World Cup because we have both the Netherlands and Curacao,” Willem-Alexander told RTL-TV. “So we have twice as many teams to cheer for. A great opportunity to cheer on both the Blues and the Oranges. All in all, it will be a special World Cup for me with two teams, and I naturally hope they go extremely far.”

A general view during the second half of the World Cup Group E soccer match between Ecuador...
A general view during the second half of the World Cup Group E soccer match between Ecuador and Curacao in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)(Reed Hoffmann | AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

The Netherlands moved one step closer to the World Cup knockout round after a 5-1 win over Sweden.

Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece to help coach Ronald Koeman’s team bounce back from a disappointing draw in its opener and move atop Group F. The Netherlands concludes group play against Tunisia on Thursday in Kansas City.

Curacao is still alive, too, after Eloy Room made 15 saves — one off the World Cup record — to earn a draw with Ecuador. It concludes Group E play on Thursday against the Ivory Coast in Philadelphia at the same time Ecuador is playing Germany in New York.

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It is quite rare for sitting monarchs to come through the area. Queen Ann of Romania attended the dedication of the Liberty Memorial, which is where Kansas City is holding its World Cup FanFest, in the 1920s, while King Gustav XVI of Sweden made a stop in the small Kansas town of Lindsborg when he was passing through the Midwest in the 1970s.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.





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1 man dies after being shot June 9 in Kansas City, Missouri; police working to identify person of interest

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1 man dies after being shot June 9 in Kansas City, Missouri; police working to identify person of interest


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department is working to identify a person(s) of interest in a June 9 shooting that led to the death of one victim.

Police were called around 6 a.m. on June 9 to the area of Independence and Monroe avenues in Kansas City, Missouri.

Responding officers found an unresponsive man behind a residence in that area. He was transported to the hospital for life-threatening injuries, per KCPD.

Police were notified Friday night that the shooting victim died.

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KCPD said Saturday “detectives have made headway identifying subject(s) of interest.”

Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to call KCPD Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline at 816-474-8477.

If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.

Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.

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1 man killed, 5 others wounded in mass shooting Friday night near East 19th and Vine streets in KCMO

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1 man killed, 5 others wounded in mass shooting Friday night near East 19th and Vine streets in KCMO


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One person was shot to death and five others were wounded by gunfire Friday night in the 18th and Vine Historic District in Kansas City, Missouri.

Police said officers were in the area of East 18th Street and Paseo about 10:30 p.m. when they heard gunshots.

The officers moved to East 19th Street between the Paseo and Vine Street to check for shooting victims, according to a police department news release.

They found one man who had been shot and was unresponsive, along with two women who had been shot.

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The man was declared dead at the scene.

One of the women suffered serious gunshot wounds and the other woman suffered non life-threatening wounds, according to the police department news release.

Officers at the shooting scene were notified three more shooting victims from the same area had been taken to a hospital by a private vehicle.

An adult male and female were reported in stable condition late Friday, while a second adult male suffered critical gunshot wounds, according to police.

Police said their preliminary investigation revealed the victims were standing on 19th Street between Vine and Paseo when people began shooting in several directions.

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All the shooting victims were hit by gunfire in that area, according to police.

No word on what led to the mass shooting and at least one murder.

This is a developing story and will be updated when new information is available.

If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.

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Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.





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