Beltran Comes Up Big Again for the Royals

Mike Cameron came up inches short.

Carlos Beltran hit a two-run home run just beyond Cameron’s reach in the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday, giving the host Kansas City Royals a 7-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

One day after Beltran robbed Dan Wilson of a home run with a leaping catch at the 12-foot fence in center field, Cameron had a chance to turn the tables. But he barely missed, the ball grazing his glove as Beltran’s drive carried over the wall.

“As soon as I hit the ball I never thought it was going to be out of the ballpark,” Beltran said. “But when I saw Cameron going back and feeling for the wall, I thought maybe I’ve got a chance.”

Cameron thought he had it at first.

“I just ran out of real estate,” he said. “It just tipped my glove and that’s all I had. I tried to squeeze it and hold onto it, but coming back, it must have popped out.”

Despite blowing a 5-3 lead in the ninth, the Royals took three of four in a series between first-place teams -- 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.

Julius Matos singled against Arthur Rhodes (2-2) with one out in the 10th inning and Beltran connected on an 0-and-2 pitch for his 13th homer this season.

Minnesota 6, Oakland 4 -- Doug Mientkiewicz hit a three-run homer and Torii Hunter hit a two-run shot at Minneapolis to help the Twins complete a four-game sweep.

Boston 9, Toronto 4 -- Pedro Martinez (7-2) gave up three hits in seven scoreless innings, and Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar each homered to lift the host Red Sox.

New York 7, Cleveland 4 -- Jorge Posada’s two-run homer sparked a six-run sixth inning and Mike Mussina (11-6) pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning to help the Yankees complete a four-game sweep at home.

Chicago 10, Detroit 1 -- Frank Thomas hit two of the White Sox’s five home runs and Esteban Loaiza shut down the Tigers for seven innings at Chicago.

Loaiza (12-5), a non-roster invitee to spring training, set a career high for victories and ended a three-game skid.

Tampa Bay 15, Texas 4 -- Aubrey Huff, Al Martin and Travis Lee each hit a three-run homer at St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Devil Rays equaled a team record for runs in a game.

Manager Lou Piniella moved past Chuck Tanner into 24th place on the career list with 1,353 victories.