KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Edinson Volquez returned to the win column Sunday thanks to a baffling array of pitches.

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) was winless in his previous four starts, but he checked the Yankees on three hits to pick up his first victory since April 20. He walked none and struck out five while lowering his ERA to 2.74.

"All my pitches were there today," Volquez said. "I was able to throw a lot of strikes, attack hitters, keep the ball down. They're pretty good hitters. I was able to make some good pitches."

Volquez allowed only one runner to reach second base in his seven innings.

"He was hitting his spots, throwing the ball hard and mixing in a good changeup and a good curveball," said Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeria, who departed in the seventh inning with a bruised toe. "That's as good as I've ever seen him."

The Yankees lost for the fifth time in six games, and they scored a total of six runs in the defeats. They were shut out for the first time this year.

New York starter Chris Capuano (0-1) 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 he missed the first 38 games as a result of a right quadriceps injury sustained in spring training.

"It's certainly not the outing I wanted for my first outing," Capuano said. "I wanted to try to give the team a little boost heading into the off day, but there were a lot of good things that happened the first three innings to build on for next time."

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 Kansas City's lead to 4-0.

Capuano walked center fielder Lorenzo Cain and first baseman Eric Hosmer to begin the inning. Designated hitter Kendrys Morales and Perez delivered run-producing singles, finishing Capuano's afternoon after 63 pitches.

"I think I just got a little away from my aggressive approach to the leadoff hitters in the fourth," Capuano said. "That was a big part of the game plan to make them earn their way and not issue free passes. The two leadoff walks came back to hurt me. It's frustrating. I was just trying to get a double play, and a couple of balls found holes at the end."

Royals second baseman Omar 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.

"He missed with a couple of spots and walked a couple of guys and all of a sudden they had something going," Girardi said. "Up until that point, he had pitched pretty well. He has the ability to get people out. We saw that. We know pitchers walk a fine line, and you can't give (the opponent) extra baserunners."

Volquez retired the first 11 batters he faced before designated hitter Alex 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.

"Volquez was fantastic," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He had all kinds of movement and action on his fastball. For the most part, if Eddie's executing his pitches, he's going to be very good."

The Royals padded their lead in the sixth with two unearned runs after a throwing error on third baseman Chase Headley, allowing Infante to reach base to lead off the inning.

Rookie right fielder Paulo Orlando doubled home Infante. Orlando advanced to third on left fielder Jarrod Dyson's groundout and scored on shortstop Alcides Escobar's fly out to right field.

Kansas City 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 Rodriguez to the plate.

Davis struck out Rodriguez on three pitches and retired first baseman Garrett Jones, who replaced Teixeira, on a grounder to first bas to end the inning.

"I saw Kelvin (Herrera) get up in the bullpen," Davis said. "I did not want him to have to come in."

Right-hander Jason Frasor gave up two hits in the ninth before completing the shutout.

NOTES: Royals manager Ned Yost said LHP Danny Duffy, who lost his past three starts, probably would 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 Negro Leagues and Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks. 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. 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.