Seattle sequence ended

The Twins triumph at the Metrodome

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American League

The Seattle Mariners, the team with the best record in baseball, have had their nine-match winning streak ended by the Chicago White Sox.

Paul Konerko hit a RBI single with two out in the 14th inning on Sunday to lift the White Sox to a 2-1 victory, as the Mariners' best-ever month ended on a low.

Despite the defeat, Seattle lead the American League Western division by nine matches with a 20-5 record.

"We've got the day off tomorrow and we just have to go home and get back at it and try to start another one," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said of the winning streak.

The New York Yankees beat Oakland 3-1 to seal a three-game sweep of the Athletics.

The Yankees were helped on their way by veteran Roger Clemens, who earned sole possession of sixth place on the all-time strike-out list by fanning a pair of batters in the seventh inning.

The five-time Cy Young Award winner and future member of the Hall of Fame got Miguel Tejada to look at a 2-2 curve ball for his 3,534th career strike-out, tying Gaylord Perry for sixth place.

Clemens said: "It's a pleasure. Gaylord is one of the great names of the past. This was a situation where I couldn't get caught up in it because it was a good ball game."

Another milestone for Clemens

Kansas City Royals outlasted the Boston Red Sox 11-8 in the rubber match-up of the three-game series.

Off-form reliever Derek Lowe gave up a game-tying solo home run to Jermaine Dye in the top of the ninth and a three-run shot to Joe Randa in the 11th.

Bartolo Colon pitched eight solid innings as the Cleveland Indians crushed the Texas Rangers 9-2.

Jeff Weaver stole a march on Albie Lopez - the pitcher with the league's leading ERA - as the Detriot Tigers downed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6-1.

JC Romero and four relievers combined on a five-hitter and Corey Koskie drove in three runs as the Minnesota Twins blanked the Baltimore Orioles 4-0 to improve to 17-6 on top of the Central standings.

Steve Parris produced seven scoreless innings and Jeff Frye drove in both runs as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Anaheim Angels 2-0.

National League

Revenge was sweet for the St Louis Cardinals as they handed out a 12-1 drubbing to arch-rivals the New York Mets.

Darryl Kile came within three outs of a shutout and helped himself with two hits and two RBI as the Cardinals won the decider of a three-game series.

"We wanted to win this series," said St Louis manager Tony La Russa after exorcising the demons of last year's bad-tempered 3-2 NL Championship Series loss by the Mets.

It was also one-way traffic in Milwaukee as the Brewers piled on the agony for the Montreal Expos with a resounding 10-0 scoreline.

In San Francisco, the Chicago Cubs won the decisive match of a three-game series 11-2 against the Giants.

Manny Aybar allowed two hits over five innings while Sammy Sosa and Damon Buford each homered and drove in three runs.

The Colorado Rockies snapped the Cincinnati Reds' nine-game winning streak on the road with a 14-7 victory, while in San Diego, Phil Nevin was on top form as he led the Padres to a 6-1 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The third baseman had three hits, including a homer, and Woody Williams threw 7 2/3 strong innings.

Elsewhere, two homers from Charles Johnson guided the Florida Marlins to a convincing 11-5 win over the Houston Astros, while the Arizona Diamondbacks squeezed a 7-5 win against the Atlanta Braves.

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Sunday's MLB results:
(Home teams first)

American League

Boston 8-11 Kansas City
Cleveland 9-2 Texas
Detroit 6-1 Tampa Bay
New York Yankees 3-1 Oakland
Toronto 2-0 Anaheim
Chicago White Sox 2-1 Seattle
Minnesota 4-0 Baltimore

National League

Milwaukee 10-0 Montreal
St Louis 12-1 New York Mets
Houston 5-11 Florida
Colorado 14-7 Cincinnati
San Francisco 2-11 Chicago Cubs
Los Angeles 4-1 Philadelphia
San Diego 6-1 Pittsburgh
Arizona 7-5 Atlanta