Minneapolis ? Luis Alicea hit a three-run homer and Carlos Febles went 4-for-4 Monday, helping the Kansas City Royals beat Minnesota 12-4 Monday and end the Twins’ five-game winning streak.

The bottom third of Kansas City’s order – Neifi Perez, Brent Mayne and Febles – went 10-for-15 with nine runs scored and three RBIs. Leadoff hitter Aaron Guiel was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Alicea, batting second, drove in four.

After losing six in a row, including four straight by one run, Kansas City got 17 hits and avoided its first four-game sweep at the Metrodome. The Royals, 4-11 against Minnesota this year, have outscored the Twins 73-68.

Royals rookie Shawn Sedlacek (2-2) won despite allowing four runs, eight hits and five walks in 6 2-3 innings. Sedlacek gave up a pair of sacrifice flies, to Denny Hocking in the second and Bobby Kielty in the sixth, then faded in the seventh.

Luis Rivas hit an RBI double, and Cristian Guzman drove him in with an infield single, but Scott Mullen relieved and got David Ortiz to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Joe Mays (2-2) yielded eight runs and 12 hits in 5 2-3 innings for Minnesota. His fourth start since spending three months on the disabled list with elbow inflammation was by far his worst.

Though he struck out only one, Mays looked fine until the Royals scored twice on four hits in the fifth. Trailing 4-1, Mays got two outs in the sixth but then gave up four straight singles.

Kevin Frederick entered with two on and allowed Alicea’s first homer since last Sept. 8, putting the Royals up 9-1 and ending the Minnesota bullpen’s scoreless innings streak at 20.

Mays threw wildly past first on a bunt single by Perez in the sixth, ending the Twins’ club-record errorless streak at 12 games, but Torii Hunter could’ve been charged with an error in the third.

He ran back for a routine fly to center field, pivoted on the wrong foot and awkwardly stuck his glove out as the ball hit by Brent Mayne bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double. The Royals scored twice in that inning.

Hocking played third base for Minnesota in place of Corey Koskie, held out of the lineup after bruising his chest Sunday when Royals first baseman Chan Perry hit him with a ball that was intended for home plate.

Koskie spent the night in a hospital as a precaution, underwent tests Monday morning and was released.

Notes:@ The Twins’ clubhouse was subdued in victory after Koskie’s scare on Sunday but back to normal Monday. An enlarged paper replica of a baseball was taped to the chest of Koskie’s jersey in his stall. … Chuck Knoblauch, still sore above his elbow after being hit there by Rick Reed on Friday, was out of the lineup for the second straight day but is expected back for Tuesday’s game in New York. Knoblauch, who missed 39 games earlier this year with a strained forearm, took the Royals’ lineup card out to the umpires at the plate before the game. … Ortiz extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a single in the sixth.