Royals, Orioles show frustration during dugout-emptying confrontation

BALTIMORE (AP) — The frustration of struggling through a lackluster first half of the season became alarmingly evident Sunday for both the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals.

An errant pitch from Royals reliever Lucas Erceg that struck Baltimore’s Blaze Alexander on the left hand resulted in both dugouts and bullpens emptying onto the field near home plate during the seventh inning of the Orioles’ 8-2 victory.

Though both teams began the day in last place in their divisions, there was no shortage of emotion after Erceg hit Alexander with an inside fastball. Alexander took a few steps toward first base before shouting at Erceg, prompting Orioles manager Craig Albernaz to quickly restrain his infielder from charging the mound.

During that time, however, players from both teams emerged from the dugouts and pitchers from both bullpens charged in from beyond the outfield wall.

No punches were thrown and no one was ejected. But Alexander ended up with a non-displaced fracture of his left hand, according to Albernaz.

“Definitely a gut punch,” Albernaz said of the prospect of being without Alexander when the team returns from the All-Star break to face Houston on Friday night.

Alexander leads the Orioles with a .312 batting average. He was not made available to the media after Sunday’s game.

Erceg insisted the errant pitch was a complete accident — even though the previous batter, Samuel Basallo, homered for an 8-2 lead.

“There’s no ill intent. That’s baseball,” Erceg said. “I mean, guys are going to get hit, and you have to, I guess, kind of understand the situation. I understand why he’s mad. Obviously, you don’t ever want to get hit, especially in the hand. So sorry about that.”

It’s been that kind of year for the Royals and Erceg.

“I’ve got like a five-something ERA,” Erceg noted. “I mean, I’m not going out there to hit guys and put guys on and give up homers and this and that.”

Kansas City dropped a season-high 21 games under .500 (38-59) after being swept for the eighth time, most in the majors. The Royals have dropped five in a row, and a four-day break might not ease the angst they’re feeling.

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

Baltimore Orioles’ Jeremiah Jackson (82) is congratulated by teammate Taylor Ward (3) after scoring against the Kansas City Royals in the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 12, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Kansas City Royals’ Josh Rojas reacts after striking out against the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 12, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Kansas City Royals’ Josh Rojas reacts after the third out in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, July 12, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

LONDON (AP) — Prince William joined his wife Kate and two of their children for the men’s final at Wimbledon on Sunday in a star-studded Royal Box that also included actors Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller.

Kate is the patron of the All England Club and presented the trophy to winner Jannik Sinner after his match against Alexander Zverev. She also handed out the trophy to women’s winner Linda Noskova on Saturday, but was not joined by any family members.

The couple’s two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, also attended Sunday’s match. All four were on hand to watch Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final as well. After the win over Zverev, the royals had an extended chat with Sinner in a room inside the tournament’s main stadium as he clutched the golden trophy.

“Fantastic achievement,” Kate told Sinner. “It’s really inspiring to the children to see tennis at that level.”

Sinner then asked the young royals how often they play tennis themselves.

“Not every day, but weekends,” George said.

Sinner had a similar conversation with the four royals after last year’s final.

“You can really see that they love the sport,” Sinner said Sunday. “This is exactly how we feel as players on court when we see them watching tennis. Staying there for four hours under the sun with the heat, it’s really nice. … Having the whole Royal Box there, as well, the whole people staying for a match like this for four-ish hours, it’s amazing. That’s also the reason why we love to play tennis.”

Other dignitaries in the Royal Box included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italy’s sports minister Andrea Abodi.

Former Wimbledon champions Stefan Edberg, Lleyton Hewitt, Richard Krajicek, Jan Kodes and Stan Smith were also in attendance.

Other Hollywood celebrities in the crowd for the match included Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hiddleston and Andrew Garfield.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis