Morneau became the fourth Twins player to hit three home runs in a game, and Minnesota hit six in all in the nightcap to complete the sweep.

In the opener, Torii Hunter homered, Jason Kubel hit a grand slam and Minnesota handed Jon Garland one of the worst defeats of his career while beating the White Sox, 20-14.

It was the highest run total for the Twins since they scored 23 against Cleveland on June 4, 2002. The White Sox had not surrendered 20 runs since April 2, 1998, against Texas.

The 34 combined runs were the most since May 19, 1999, when Cincinnati beat Colorado, 24-12, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Garland (6-6) tied a career high by allowing 12 runs, 11 of them earned.

Chicago set season highs for runs and hits (18). It was the highest run total for the White Sox since they scored 20 against St. Louis on June 20, 2006.

“I didn’t know we were going to play a football game,” Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire said.

BLUE JAYS 8, INDIANS 6 Vernon Wells homered and drove in three runs, and Roy Halladay remained unbeaten against Cleveland as Toronto won at home. Halladay (10-3) allowed five runs and nine hits in five and two-thirds innings, walking one and striking out three. He is 5-0 with a 3.84 earned run average in 10 career appearances against the Indians.

RANGERS 4, ORIOLES 3 Michael Young’s one-out R.B.I. single in the 10th inning gave Texas a victory at home against Baltimore, despite the fact that closer Eric Gagné gave up a run in the ninth for his first blown save.

DEVIL RAYS 6, ROYALS 5 Brendan Harris and Delmon Young each drove in two runs and Tampa Bay snapped an 11-game losing streak with a victory at Kansas City. Winless since beating the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 24, the Devil Rays broke the longest losing streak in the majors this year. It was their longest losing streak since a 12-game skid in 2004 that also ended in Kansas City.

REDS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 1 Ken Griffey Jr. tied Frank Robinson for sixth place on the home run list and Kyle Lohse pitched a four-hitter as Cincinnati won at home.

Griffey capped Cincinnati’s three-run fifth inning with his 586th homer — his 23rd of the season — a two-run shot off the right-hander Micah Owings that traveled 419 feet into the right-center-field seats.

Adam Dunn and Brandon Phillips also homered as the Reds won back-to-back games for the first time since wins against the Cleveland Indians on June 10 and the Los Angeles Angels on June 12.

GIANTS 4, CARDINALS 3 Noah Lowry struck out five in six innings to win his third consecutive start, and Ray Durham had a run-scoring single for San Francisco, which scored three runs on a misplay by St. Louis center fielder So Taguchi in the fifth. Barry Bonds grounded out and drew three walks as he remained at 751 home runs, four short of matching Hank Aaron’s career record.

PIRATES 8, CUBS 4 Xavier Nady homered and drove in three runs to support Paul Maholm’s pitching as host Pittsburgh won its fourth game in a row.

The Cubs had won 11 of 13 and were 21-10 since June 3, the best record in the majors over that span, until being limited to five hits over seven-plus innings by Maholm (5-11).

BREWERS 6, NATIONALS 2 Ryan Braun homered twice, Dave Bush took a shutout into the seventh inning and Milwaukee ended a three-game losing streak with a victory at Washington.

PIRATES EXECUTIVE RESIGNS Kevin McClatchy, a newspaper heir widely credited with preventing the Pirates from leaving Pittsburgh by assembling an ownership group in 1996 when no one else would, announced yesterday that he was stepping down as the team’s chief executive officer at the end of the season.

The Pirates are on pace for a 15th consecutive losing season, one short of the major league record. If they do not have a winning record this season, it will be their 12th consecutive losing record under McClatchy. “I take responsibility for the losing, that’s probably in some ways reason for a change,” McClatchy told The Associated Press. “It’s good to turn the page, have a fresh perspective.”