Pettitte, Wells combine to lead Yanks to 3-2 win over Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Andy Pettitte won for the first time since mid-April and Vernon Wells hit a two-run homer as the New York Yankees topped the Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium.

It was New York's second straight win in the series.

Pettitte (4-2) allowed just five balls out of the infield in seven innings, including Billy Butler's fourth homer of the year that gave the Royals a brief 2-1 lead in the fourth inning.

Pettitte gave up five hits and two runs with six strikeouts and one walk to pick up his first victory since beating Toronto on April 19.

"A big-league win, that's precious," Pettitte said. "Last start, my arm angle was too low. That was obvious on the video. I got my arm angle back up and I had a good cutter. I should have looked at the video a little sooner."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi liked what he saw from his pitcher.

"Andy threw the ball really well," Girardi said. "He got big outs. It was good to see him get back on track. It's important that he feels good about what he's doing.

"I think people get too concerned about age. Andy didn't forget how to pitch. When you're struggling people start to wonder, 'Is he getting old?' Andy still knows how to pitch."

Wells connected for a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the fifth to cap the scoring. It was Wells' eighth homer of the year but just his second since April 25.

"You go through periods of swinging the bat well and don't have anything to show for it," Wells said. "Today I made the one count. We have to do a little better job of taking the pressure off the pitchers. Our whole staff has done a great job. Our starters have been unbelievable."

Mariano Rivera worked around a two-out double by Salvador Perez in the ninth to convert his 14th save in as many opportunities. It was Rivera's first appearance at Kauffman Stadium since suffering a season-ending right knee injury last May 3 while shagging fly balls during batting practice.

"It was beautiful," Rivera said of his experience. "It was special; amazing. The fans are great. I can say nothing else but that. I see it as appreciation for a lot of hard work."

Royals starter James Shields (2-3) went eight innings, allowing three runs (two earned), six hits and two walks against five strikeouts.

"It wasn't that bad of a pitch," Shields said of Wells' homer. "It was middle away on 3-1. He's a pretty good hitter and you fall behind on a good hitter and they're going to put a good swing on it. He made a good swing there."

Wells returned the compliments.

"It was typical James Shields," Wells said. "He was changing speeds and had a good fastball. Fortunately, he fell behind me and had to throw a fastball. They call him 'Big Game James' for a reason."

The Royals are 4-4 in Shields' eight starts this season, with all four losses decided by one run.

"Shields can absolutely handle it," Royals manager Ned Yost said of the tight losses. "He's prepared to take the hill every time. He understands how to give his team a great chance to win. He doesn't buy into frustration. He's a pro's pro."

"The home runs are the home runs, but you can't give Stewart the free base," Shields said. "(With a) 1-2 count, you can't hit him right there. To me, that's unacceptable. He's a 9-hole hitter and I had him 1-2 count and you've got the leadoff hitter and Cano coming up. That's unacceptable right there."

The Yankees took the lead on an unearned run in the top of the third. After Chris Nelson doubled into the left-field corner, Chris Stewart and Brett Gardner popped up and Shields coaxed a soft grounder from Robinson Cano, but Mike Moustakas threw wide of first, allowing Nelson to score for a 1-0 advantage.

"Shields did a phenomenal job of pitching to Cano and not giving him anything to hit," Yost said. "Moose just stayed open and got under the ball and it went wide."

The Royals answered in the bottom of the inning despite not hitting the ball out of the infield.

Elliott Johnson led off with an infield hit, then stole second and advanced to third on a groundout before Lorenzo Cain brought him home with another grounder, tying the score 1-1.

Butler's fourth-inning homer was just the third ball that Pettitte allowed out of the infield through the first four innings.

Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez had consecutive, sharply hit ground ball singles to the outfield in the second.

NOTES: In facing off against Pettitte, Shields made his seventh start against a former All-Star in eight starts this year. Shields has previously pitched against Chris Sale (twice), Cole Hamels, R.A. Dickey, Clay Buchholz and Justin Verlander. ... The Yankees will add a pitcher to their roster for the doubleheader in Cleveland on Monday, using their optional 26th-man spot for that purpose. While the one extra spot will be used for a pitcher for both games of the doubleheader, Girardi did not rule out other players being added to the roster. "We'll use it just for a pitcher; it's a long day," Girardi said. "You can designate one guy as a 26th player, but you can make moves between the games."