Royals 6, Yankees 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Edinson Volquez pitched seven scoreless innings and catcher Salvador Perez homered and drove in two runs as the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Yankees 6-0 Sunday.
Volquez (3-3), who was winless in his past four starts, checked the Yankees on three hits to pick up his first victory since April 20. Volquez, who walked none and struck out five, lowered his ERA to 2.74.
The Yankees have dropped five of six and have scored six runs in the losses. They were shutout for the first time this year.
The Royals padded their lead in the sixth with two unearned runs after a throwing error on third baseman Chase Headley, allowing second baseman Omar Infante to reach base to leadoff the inning.
Rookie right fielder Paulo Orlando doubled home Infante. Orlando advanced to third on left fielder Jarrod Dyson's ground out and scored on shortstop Alcides Escobar's fly out to right fielder Carlos Beltran.
Right-hander Wade Davis pitched out of a predicament in the eighth when he walked two and left fielder Brett Gardner reached on an infield single off Davis' glove to load the bases with one out, bringing designated hitter Alex Rodriguez to the plate.
Davis struck out Rodriguez on three pitches and retired first baseman Garrett Jones on a grounder to first baseman Eric Hosmer to end the inning. Jones had replaced Mark Teixeira, who suffered a bruised right toe after being hit by a pitch in the fourth inning.
Right-hander Jason Frasor gave up two hits in the ninth before completing the shutout.
Chris Capuano can cross facing the Royals off his bucket list, but he might prefer to never see them again.
Capuano, the Yankees' 36-year-old left-hander who broke into the majors in 2003, had pitched against the other 29 major league clubs, but never the Royals before Sunday.
It was also Capuano's first start of the season after missing the first 38 games as a result of a right quadriceps injury sustained in spring training.
Capuano lasted only three-plus innings, before manager Joe Girardi replaced him with right-hander Esmil Rogers. Capuano retired none of the four batters he faced in the fourth and three scored, pushing the Kansas City lead to 4-0.
Capuano walked center fielder Lorenzo Cain and Hosmer to begin the inning. Designated hitter Kendrys Morales and Perez delivered run-producing singles, finishing Capuano's afternoon after 63 pitches.
Infante greeted Rogers with a double down the left-field line to score Morales with the final run of the inning.
Capuano's only hiccup before the fourth came in the second when Perez planted a full-count 76 mph changeup over the left-field fence and into the Royals' bullpen.
Volquez retired the first 11 batters he faced before Rodriguez lined a double high off the right-center fence, just missing a home run. After Volquez hit Teixeira with a pitch, he struck out catcher Brian McCann to strand the runners.
NOTES: Royals manager Ned Yost said LHP Danny Duffy, who has lost his past three starts, would probably make his next start, Saturday against the Cardinals. ... Royals LF Alex Gordon was not in the lineup Sunday as Jarrod Dyson started in his place. ... The Royals honored the Negro Leagues and Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks Sunday. The Royals wore Kansas City Monarchs uniforms, comparable to what Banks wore before signing with the Cubs. Both teams wore a No. 28 patch, Banks' number while with the Monarchs. Yankees manager Joe Girardi played with the Cubs from 1989-92 and frequently conversed with Banks. "Ernie was always very humble, very gracious, always had an excitement for the game," Girardi said. ... The Yankees optioned RHP Bryan Mitchell back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after only one day with the club to make roster room for LHP Chris Capuano.