Bryan Bullington, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2002, threw eight crisp innings for his first major league win, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 1-0 victory over the New York Yankees Sunday. Bullington (1-2) allowed two hits, walked one and struck out five to outpitch A.J. Burnett (9-10), who yielded four hits and one run in eight innings. Joakim Soria finished the two-hitter, extending his club record with his 26th consecutive save. Alex Rodriguez, who homered in his final three at-bats Saturday night, slammed a Bullington pitch to deep center leading off the second inning, driving Gregor Blanco almost to the wall. But A-Rod went down quietly the rest of the way. The Yankees, facing a pitcher they'd never seen, were shut out for the sixth time one day after everyone in the lineup got at least one hit in an 8-3 victory. Twins 4, Athletics 2: At Minneapolis, Kevin Slowey held Oakland without a hit for seven innings before reliever Jon Rauch gave up the no-hit bid in the eighth as the Twins finished their fifth series sweep. Slowey (11-5) combined with Jon Rauch, Jesse Crain and Matt Capps to limit Oakland to three hits, while Jason Kubel drove in the first run for Minnesota and Jim Thome homered for a team that will open a key AL Central series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. The Twins (68-50) also moved 18 games over .500, their best record in nearly two years. Rays 3, Orioles 2: At St. Petersburg, Florida, Jeremy Hellickson threw six sharp innings to become the first Tampa Bay pitcher to win his first three major league starts. Hellickson (3-0) allowed one run and three hits, and has given up three runs and nine hits over 20 innings in the majors. Carl Crawford homered and drove in two runs to support him. Blue Jays 4, Angels 1: At Anaheim, Ricky Romero pitched seven solid innings one day after signing a multiyear contract extension for the Blue Jays. Rangers 7, Red Sox 3: At Arlington, C.J. Wilson dominated into the eighth inning and the AL West-leading Rangers used small ball to go ahead before Michael Young's big hit against Boston. Tigers 13, White Sox 8: At Chicago, Johnny Damon hit a go-ahead, two-run triple in the eighth inning and Jhonny Peralta homered twice as the Tigers rallied to beat the White Sox. Indians 9, Mariners 1: At Cleveland, Travis Hafner came off the disabled list to hit a grand slam, Michael Brantley drove in three runs and the Indians scored seven times in the seventh inning.
