KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Zack Littell pitched five innings of four-hit ball before rain arrived, four Tampa Bay relievers allowed one run once play resumed, and the Rays beat beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 in a game that ended just after midnight Wednesday.
Brandon Lowe homered, Isaac Paredes drove in a pair of runs, and Richie Palacios had three hits, drove in a run and scored from third on a wild pitch by Brady Singer (4-5), the only run either team scored before the 2 1/2-hour delay.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Zack Littell pitched five innings of four-hit ball before rain arrived, four Tampa Bay relievers allowed one run once play resumed, and the Rays beat beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 in a game that ended just after midnight Wednesday.
Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios slides home to score on a wild pitch thrown by Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Josh Lowe catches a fly foul ball for the out on Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals center fielder Garrett Hampson catches a fly ball for the out on Tampa Bay Rays' Ben Rortvedt during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Siri (22) beats the tag by Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to steal second during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios slides home to score on a wild pitch thrown by Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Tampa Bay Rays' Yandy Diaz (2) and Brandon Lowe (8) wait to back before a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
When the game continued, the trio of Kevin Kelly, Colin Poche and Jason Adam surrendered just one run — Bobby Witt Jr.‘s homer in the sixth — before handing the ball to Pete Fairbanks. The Rays’ closer took care of the ninth to wrap up the win.
“Guys stayed pretty dialed in,” Littell said. “It obviously showed the way they went back out there and jumped on them.”
Littell (3-5) was pretty dialed in, too, wiggling out of one last jam just as thunder began to sound through Kauffman Stadium. MJ Melendez had hit a two-out pitch to right in the fifth and CJ Alexander followed with his first career big league hit, only for Littell to strike out Kyle Isbel and leave runners on the corners.
Sheets of rain began to fall moments after the teams walked off the field.
“We were really just chilling in here. Talking trash. Keeping it light,” Palacios said, “and making sure we had some energy when we got back on the field. We wanted to make sure we came out there and grabbed some more runs.”
Tampa Bay added to its lead when Palacios ripped an RBI double off John Schreiber in the sixth. Paredes added a two-run double off Chris Stratton in the seventh before Lowe homered off Nick Anderson in the ninth inning.
“You have to give them credit,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “One run wasn't going to be enough.”
Singer allowed one run on three hits and three walks over five innings for Kansas City. He escaped most of his messes except for the second inning, when Palacios singled, reached third on a double by Jose Siri and scored on his wild pitch.
Singer has not won since May 19, going 0-3 in his last seven starts. But the lousy record is not entirely his fault. He's allowed one earned run apiece in each of his last three starts, yet received two runs of support or fewer in 11 of 17 this season.
“Our bullpen matched up really well,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Everybody who came in threw really well.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: INF/OF Adam Frazier (right thumb strain) could begin a rehab assignment this week, Quatraro said. Frazier went on the injured list June 24. He has spent the past few days ramping up baseball activity.
UP NEXT
Rays RHP Ryan Pepiot (4-4, 4.40 ERA) tries to follow a strong start against Seattle when he faces the Royals for the first time in his career. Kansas City RHP Michael Wacha (4-6, 3.91) will oppose him after shutting down Cleveland his last time out.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios slides home to score on a wild pitch thrown by Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Josh Lowe catches a fly foul ball for the out on Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals center fielder Garrett Hampson catches a fly ball for the out on Tampa Bay Rays' Ben Rortvedt during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Siri (22) beats the tag by Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to steal second during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios slides home to score on a wild pitch thrown by Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Tampa Bay Rays' Yandy Diaz (2) and Brandon Lowe (8) wait to back before a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
LONDON (AP) — The Labour Party has won Britain’s general election, bringing a new party to power for the first time in 14 years. But Labour leader Keir Starmer didn't actually become prime minister until a carefully choreographed ceremony on Friday during which King Charles III formally asked him to form a new government.
It’s a moment that embodies the fact that, technically at least, the right to govern in the United Kingdom is still derived from royal authority, centuries after real political power was transferred to elected members of Parliament.
The process is swift, if somewhat brutal for departing prime ministers, like Rishi Sunak. Here's how ceremonial events unfold after an election.
While Britain is a constitutional monarchy where the king’s power is strictly limited by law and tradition, much of what happens here has echoes of the past. In this case, the process harkens back to a time when the king exercised supreme power and chose his preeminent minister — the prime minister — to run his government.
Today, the prime minister is the leader the party that holds a majority in the House of Commons, but technically he or she must still be offered the post by the monarch, said Anna Whitelock, professor of history of the monarchy at London’s City University.
“It reflects our historic past and it reflects the fact that we do have a constitutional monarchy, a parliamentary democracy, and the prime minister and the monarch therefore work hand in glove,’’ she said. “Both of them have a key role in the Constitution. And we see that enacted, on the day where a prime minister formally takes up his position.”
First, the outgoing prime minister — Sunak, in this case — goes to Buckingham Palace to offer his resignation to the king. Then the incoming one — Starmer — arrives for his first audience with Charles.
“There’s a tiny window where between the exiting prime minister, and officially the appointment of the new one, where technically power resides for those few minutes with the monarch,’’ Whitelock said. “So there’s a brief moment where there’s effectively a kind of vacuum in terms of parliamentary democracy. … But, of course, straight away there is that moment where the new prime minister is appointed.’’
That occurs when the prime minister-to-be sweeps into the palace for a ceremony known as the “Kissing of Hands,’’ though no kissing actually occurs. After the king asks the new prime minister to form a government, he bows and shakes Charles’ hand. A photo is snapped to record the moment power is transferred.
Though there’s no record of what is said between monarch and prime minister, dramatic activity swirls outside the palace gates. News helicopters followed Starmer's and Sunak’s cars to the palace. Commentators breathlessly record their progress and speculate about what’s being said behind closed doors.
Traditionally, the new prime minister then leaves the palace in a prime ministerial car and returns to Downing Street to make a statement, receiving the applause of staff members as he enters the famous black door of No. 10 and begins the business of government.
In Britain, the verdict of the voters is delivered swiftly.
After suffering a brutal defeat at the polls, Sunak was forced to vacate the prime minister’s official residence before Starmer's arrival just a few hours later.
Sunak was driven to the palace in a chauffeur-driven ministerial car. But after tendering his resignation, he left in a private vehicle.
The transition is so rapid that the moving van for the exiting leader is usually somewhere near the back door of Downing Street as the new leader takes his bow out front.
The whole royal choreography shows, if nothing else, that the monarchy remains a symbol of stability and continuity at a time when deep divisions in society are driving angry political debate. The king, who stands above the political fray, nonetheless runs the show — albeit ceremonially — and will continue to do so even after this prime minister is gone.
“Everyone will say, ‘Well, this is all the ceremonial bit,’ but it’s a really important part of the fact that governments can change in the U.K., and we don’t do riots,” said George Gross, a royal expert at King’s College London. “Maybe that didn’t need to be said before, but in the context of the current political world and geopolitics, I think that is really healthy.’’
In her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II was served by 15 prime ministers. Charles, who has been on the throne for less than two years, is now greeting his third.
“This is the summit of power,” Gross said. “Ultimately the monarchy is the continuity and prime ministers come and go.”
The king holds weekly meetings with the prime minister to discuss government matters. While the monarch is politically neutral, he still has right to “advise and warn” the prime minister if he believes it’s necessary. These meetings are private and the matters discussed remain confidential.
The king will return to the public stage later this month for his next big royal event: the state opening of Parliament.
Traditionally, the monarch arrives in a horse-drawn carriage, sits on the Sovereign’s Throne in the House of Lords and wears the Imperial State Crown.
Then, during a joint meeting of House of Lords and the House of Commons, he will deliver a speech written for him by the incoming government to lay out its legislative program.
It’s a moment of pageantry, true. But it typifies the role of the monarchy in modern Britain.
This story has been updated to correct that Keir Starmer will be the third prime minister to serve during the King Charles III's reign, not the second.
Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of elections around the world: https://apnews.com/hub/global-elections/
FILE - Britain's King Charles III, center left, next to Queen Camilla, reads out a speech, written by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government, outlining its legislative plans, during the State Opening of Parliament at the Houses of Parliament, in London, on Nov. 7, 2023. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Britain's King Charles III pauses during the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in London on Nov. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool, File)
FILE - Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks outside Downing Street in London, on Sept. 6, 2022, before heading to Balmoral in Scotland, where he will announce his resignation to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. (Justin Tallis/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - King Charles III, left, welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become prime minister and form a new government, Oct. 25, 2022. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP, file)
FILE - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, left, welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become prime minister and form a new government, on Sept. 6, 2022. (Jane Barlow/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II welcomes newly elected leader of the Conservative party Boris Johnson during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London, on July 24, 2019, where she invited him to become prime minister and form a new government. (Victoria Jones/Pool via AP, File)
FILE - Removal vans line up at the rear of Downing Street after new Prime Minister Tony Blair replaced outgoing Conservative John Major, in London, on May 2 1997. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Arzt, File)
The motorcade carrying Britain's former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, leaves his former official residence at 10 Downing Street in central London, on May 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
FILE - Britain's new Prime Minister Tony Blair, smiles from the back of his official car as it leaves Buckingham Palace, central London, en route for Downing Street, on May 2, 1997. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
