TORONTO, 19 August 2005 — Adrian Beltre hit a grand slam home run in the first inning to pace the Mariners to an 11-5 win over Kansas City in Seattle on Wednesday, handing the Royals their club record 18th straight loss.

The Royals are now three losses away from tying the all-time American League record for consecutive defeats, held by the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who lost their first 21 games of the season. The modern day major league record for losses is held by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost 23 National League games in a row.

Kansas City now has a three-game series at the AL wild card leading Oakland Athletics followed by three more against the AL East leading Boston Red Sox.

Royals manager Buddy Bell returned to the team after missing two games to attend the funeral of his nephew, a US marine killed by a road side bomb in Iraq earlier this month.

Bell watched his team fall 8-0 behind after just five innings and 11-1 heading to the ninth, when the Royals scored four runs to make the score a little more respectable.

Richie Sexson added a solo homer for the Mariners, while Yorvit Torrealba had three hits and drove in a run.

In Oakland, Eric DuBose allowed one hit over six shutout innings in an emergency start, leading the Orioles to a 5-3 win over the Athletics. DuBose (1-0) walked four and struck out two and Todd Williams pitched the ninth for his first save.

Luis Matos homered and had three hits for the Orioles.

In Detroit, Jeremy Bonderman pitched 6 1/3 strong innings and Chris Shelton homered as the Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 6-5. Bonderman (14-9) allowed four runs on nine hits, walking four and striking out five for the win.

Fernando Rodney pitched one inning for his fifth save and Craig Monroe drove in a pair of runs.

In other games, Chris Young pitched eight solid innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Indians 3-0 in Cleveland, while Alex Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and drove in four runs as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the New York Yankees 7-6 in St Petersburg.

Willis Tosses Five-Hitter as Marlins Blank Padres

Dontrelle Willis pitched a five-hit shutout to lead the Florida Marlins to a 6-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in National League action in Miami on Wednesday. Willis (16-8) struck out three and walked one, lowering his ERA to 2.64. He also hit a two-run double for the Marlins.

The left-hander now leads the major leagues in shutouts with five and is tied with St Louis’s Chris Carpenter in complete games with six.

He has allowed just two earned runs in his last five starts, a span of 37 innings.

The Marlins beat the Padres for the first time in five attempts this season, while NL West-leading San Diego fell a game under .500, the latest in a season that a team has ever been in first place with a losing record. The Marlins gave Willis all the runs he needed in the first two innings, scoring twice in the first on a two-run homer by Carlos Delgado and four more times in the second off loser Woody Williams.

Williams (6-9) allowed six runs on six hits over five innings, striking out four and walking one. He retired the last 10 batters he faced after a shaky start, but by then trailed 6-0.

In Houston, Carlos Zambrano pitched 8 1/3 strong innings and homered as the Chicago Cubs beat the Astros 4-2. Zambrano (10-5) allowed two runs — one earned — on three hits, walking three and striking out 10 and Ryan Dempster got two outs for his 18th save.

In Philadelphia, Bobby Abreu had one hit and drove in two runs as the Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 4-3. Jon Lieber (12-10) pitched six innings, allowing two runs on three hits, walking one and striking out four for the win. Billy Wagner pitched one inning for his 28th save.

In New York, Tom Glavine pitched seven solid innings as the Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1. Glavine (9-10) allowed one run on nine hits, walking one and striking out two. Aaron Heilman pitched two innings for his first save and Carlos Beltran scored twice in his first game back after a head-to-head collision with Mike Cameron. In other games, Noah Lowry pitched 8 1/3 solid innings and scored the go-ahead run as the San Francisco Giants beat the Reds 3-2 in Cincinnati, while Tim Hudson pitched eight strong innings as the Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-2 in Atlanta.