CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs got a sweet sweep in their first-place showdown with the crosstown White Sox.

Ryan Dempster won his ninth straight this season at Wrigley Field and Eric Patterson and Aramis Ramirez homered in the same inning for the Cubs, who beat the White Sox 7-1 to finish off the three-game sweep Sunday night.

The Cubs, the owners of the best record in the majors (48-28), won their 14th straight home game to go 32-8 at Wrigley Field this season.

Dempster (9-2), who moved from closer back to starter this season, allowed 10 hits and a run in eight-plus innings, leaving after giving up back-to-back singles in the ninth. He walked one and struck out four.

Patterson, who recorded three hits Saturday when he was recalled from the minors, hit his first major league homer, a two-run shot off Javier Vazquez (7-6) in the fifth to give the Cubs a 4-0 lead.

One out later, the hot-swinging Ramirez connected on his fourth homer of the series, a solo shot. Ramirez hit the tying and winning homers in the Cubs’ 4-3 victory on Friday. He also delivered a three-run homer during a nine-run fourth inning Saturday to spark an 11-7 win.

Ramirez added an RBI double in the seventh inning Sunday and finished the series six for 13 with eight RBIs.

Trailing 5-0, the White Sox ended the shutout in the seventh on Jermaine Dye’s double and RBI single from Joe Crede.

The Cubs turned three double plays in the first five innings behind Dempster, including one on the White Sox’s hottest hitter, Dye, in the first after a pair of singles. Dye had six homers and 15 RBIs in his previous six games.

Vazquez couldn’t find the strike zone in the first, walking Kosuke Fukudome and Patterson on eight pitches. Then on a hit-and-run, Derrek Lee singled to center to score Fukudome, and Patterson also crossed when shortstop Orlando Cabrera mishandled the throw from center fielder DeWayne Wise for an error.

Vazquez allowed five hits and five runs with five walks and four strikeouts in six innings.

Also on Sunday:

Interleague

Braves 8

Mariners 3

ATLANTA — Mark Teixeira homered three times, connecting from both sides of the plate to lead Atlanta past Seattle. Tim Hudson (8-5) allowed four hits in seven scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.96 and finally win an interleague game with Atlanta. Before Sunday, Hudson was 0-10 with a 7.82 ERA in 12 interleague starts with the Braves.

Red Sox 5

Cardinals 3

BOSTON — Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run home run off of Mike Parisi in the bottom of the 13th inning to lift Boston over St. Louis. The Cardinals had a chance to take the lead in the top of the 13th off Javier Lopez (2-0), but Chris Duncan was thrown out at home plate by Red Sox right fielder J.D. Drew.

Angels 3

Phillies 2

PHILADELPHIA — Jered Weaver held Philadelphia in check into the sixth inning, Casey Kotchman homered and Los Angeles beat the Phillies to complete a three-game sweep. Weaver (7-7) allowed one run and four hits in 513 innings for the AL West-leading Angels, who have won eight of their last nine road games and are a major league-best 24-12 on the road this season.

Yankees 4

Reds 1

NEW YORK — Andy Pettitte put the Yankees back on track, running his shutout streak to 19 innings and helping New York avoid a three-game sweep with a victory over Cincinnati. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 601st home run, but the Reds are still looking for their first three-game road sweep since last July at Atlanta. Pettitte (8-5) tossed six innings of four-hit ball.

Royals 11

Giants 10

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mike Aviles had three RBIs and Joey Gathright drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, capping an eight-run comeback that gave Kansas City a thrilling win over San Francisco. The comeback matched the second-best in Royals history, after a nine-run rally on June 15, 1979, at Milwaukee.

Dodgers 4

Indians 3

LOS ANGELES — Russell Martin capped a four-run first inning with a two-run homer and the Dodgers beat Cleveland to avoid a three-game sweep in the first series between the teams at Chavez Ravine. Chad Billingsley (6-7) allowed three runs and eight hits in five innings for the Dodgers, throwing 108 pitches.

Astros 3

Rays 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Carlos Lee hit a go-ahead two-run homer and Brandon Backe pitched into the seventh inning to stop a personal three-game losing streak, helping Houston beat Tampa Bay. Backe (5-8) went 623 innings, allowing two runs and six hits with five strikeouts and four walks.

Twins 5

Diamondbacks 3

MINNEAPOLIS — Brian Buscher had two hits and drove in two runs, helping the Twins beat struggling Brandon Webb and Arizona. Livan Hernandez (8-4) gave up three runs, one earned, and nine hits with five strikeouts in seven innings for the Twins, who swept the Diamondbacks and have won six in a row, their longest winning streak since July 2006.

Blue Jays 8

Pirates 5

PITTSBURGH — Cito Gaston earned his first win as Blue Jays manager in 11 years, getting home runs from Scott Rolen and Adam Lind in a victory over Pittsburgh. Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells had two RBIs apiece for Toronto, which avoided a sweep and the third 0-6 road trip in franchise history.

Athletics 7

Marlins 1

OAKLAND, Calif. — Justin Duchscherer is making an impressive bid for a spot in the All-Star game. Duchscherer (8-4) bounced back from a first-inning home run to win his fourth straight start, Emil Brown hit a two-run single and Oakland won the rubber game against Florida. Duchscherer improved to 4-0 in June and became the American League ERA leader at 1.99.

Rangers 5

Nationals 3

WASHINGTON — Frank Catalanotto delivered a tiebreaking, pinch-hit single in the eighth inning, and Texas beat Washington. Vicente Padilla (10-3) gave up three runs and five hits over seven innings to win for the eighth time in nine decisions since April 27.

Brewers 7

Orioles 3

MILWAUKEE — Prince Fielder hit two home runs, Corey Hart and Bill Hall also went deep and the Milwaukee beat Baltimore for its sixth win in seven games. Manny Parra (7-2) struggled through five innings but won his fifth consecutive start. He helped himself get out of trouble by inducing three double plays.

Tigers 5

Padres 3

SAN DIEGO — Magglio Ordonez hit a two-run homer, Justin Verlander won his first road game of the season and Detroit beat San Diego in the rubber game of a three-game series. Winless in six road starts this season, Verlander (4-9) improved to 8-0 in his career in interleague play. He struck out a season-high 10 while pitching around five walks in 513 innings.

national league

Mets 3

Rockies 1

DENVER — Mike Pelfrey carried a shutout into the sixth inning, Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer and New York beat Colorado to wrap up a winning road trip under interim manager Jerry Manuel. Pelfrey (4-6) allowed only three hits but walked five over 523 innings to record his second straight win. He hasn’t lost since May 26 against Florida.