The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS - Doug Mientkiewicz hit a three-run homer and Torii Hunter added a two-run shot to help the Minnesota Twins complete a four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics with a 6-4 victory Sunday.

Shannon Stewart went 4-for-4 with an RBI for the Twins, who have bounced back to life after an awful end - 22 losses in 28 games - to the first half.

"We finished off a very big series," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Hopefully we'll be able to carry it over and get back in this race."

Kenny Rogers (8-5) beat Ted Lilly in a drawn-out battle of two wild lefties, as Minnesota finished the season 8-1 against Oakland and swept a four-game set from the A's for the first time since August 1993.

Royals 7, Mariners 5, 10 innings

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer off Arthur Rhodes in the 10th inning to lift Kansas City.

The Royals took three of four in a series between division leaders, their first four-game series victory over Seattle in nearly 11 years. The AL Central leaders improved to 54-42, their best record at this point since 1989.

"We've been finding ways to win games. It would have been a terrible game to lose," said winner Kris Wilson (5-0).

Red Sox 9, Blue Jays 4

BOSTON - Pedro Martinez pitched seven scoreless innings, and Boston supported him with homers from Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar.

Martinez (7-2) allowed three hits, struck out eight and walked none to earn his first decision in three starts. He has not lost in nine starts since May 9.

Devil Rays 15, Rangers 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Aubrey Huff, Al Martin and Travis Lee each hit a three-run homer in the Devil Rays' rout.

The victory moved manager Lou Piniella past Chuck Tanner into 24th place on the career list with 1,353 wins.

Yankees 7, Indians 4

NEW YORK - Jorge Posada's two-run homer sparked New York's six-run sixth inning, and Mike Mussina pitched shutout ball into the seventh as the Yankees swept.

Orioles 7, Angels 6

BALTIMORE - David Segui's seventh career grand slam backed a fine pitching performance by Jason Johnson, and Baltimore completed its first four-game sweep of the Angels since 1965.

White Sox 10, Tigers 1

CHICAGO - Frank Thomas hit two of Chicago's five home runs and Esteban Loaiza set a career high in wins by shutting down Detroit for seven innings.