SEATTLE -- Jason Vargas used his "accelerator" to control the strike zone and it meant his first road victory of the season. It came at a place where he felt like home. Vargas allowed three hits over seven innings and the Kansas City Royals had 16 hits -- all singles -- in a 6-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. Vargas (3-1), who pitched for the Mariners for four seasons (2009-12), struck out six without a walk. He is 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA in four career starts against his former team. His 2.30 ERA at Safeco Field is tied for the seventh best for a starter in park history Vargas signed a four-year, free-agent deal with the Royals in November. "When hes on his game, like he was tonight, he really works the accelerator really well," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He pushes down with the fastball, backs off with the changeup. Good curveball. "What pitchers like Vargie do so well is they disrupt the opposition hitters timing. He did that extremely well tonight." Vargas said controlling the strike zone is always his goal "but the execution is not always the same. ... Tonight I was able control counts and able to make pitches down in the strike zone." Salvador Perez, Eric Gordon and Eric Hosmer had three hits each for the Royals while Nori Aoki and Lorenzo Cain had two each. The Mariners have scored just two runs and have 10 hits over the past three games. Brandon Maurer (1-1) took the loss, allowing 14 hits, six runs -- four earned -- and did not walk or strike out a batter. The 14 hits Maurer allowed were just one short of the team record set by Greg Hibbard on May 24, 1994. "This was a weird, weird game," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Maurer threw the ball extremely well, gave up two hard hits. They were persistent, put the bat on the ball and found some holes. "It was one of those nights. I didnt look up to see if it was a full moon or not. It was weird." The first hit Vargas allowed came in the third, a one-out single by Mike Zunino. Shortstop Alcides Escobar knocked the hard grounder down but it rolled a few feet away. The other hits were Dustin Ackleys line single to centre in the fifth and Robinson Canos ground single to right in the seventh. "He mixed it up and threw strikes," Mariners third baseman Will Bloomquist said of Vargas. "I saw a couple changeups and they were kind of Jamie Moyer-like, coming out of the back of his hand and falling off pretty good. He threw the ball well." The Royals pieced together rallies off Maurer. Only one run scored on a hit. The rest scored on an error, a sacrifice fly, a double play and two on fielders choices. "We dont care how we get the runs," Hosmer said. "Any way we can produce them. Thats what we need to do. As an offence, we just have to bear down and find ways to produce runs." Aoki opened the game with a single to right followed by Hosmers single to right, with Aoki sprinting to third. Aoki scored on Billy Butlers bouncer to Bloomquist, who tried to start a double play but threw wildly to second, pulling Cano off the bag. Initially, the umpires ruled Hosmer safe on an apparent error but Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon challenged the call. After a review, it was ruled that Cano dragged his left toe across the bag while in possession of the ball. Hosmer was ruled out. Perez bounced into a double play to end the inning. Hosmers sacrifice fly in the third put the Royals up 2-0. Mariners shortstop Brad Millers throwing error in the fourth allowed two more runs. Perez opened with a single followed by a clean bunt single by Gordon. Johnny Giavotella then bounced a potential double-play ball to short but Millers flip to second sailed into right field and Perez scored. Gordon would later score the second run on Cains double-play grounder. Kansas City made it 5-0 in the sixth when Butler scored on Giavotellas fielders choice. Cains one-out single in the eighth scored Perez from second to make it 6-0, ending Maurers evening. The Mariners scored in the eighth off reliever Aaron Crow. Miller drew a one-out walk. Pinch-hitter James Jones then stroked a two-out double into the right-field corner. Miller had stopped at third then trotted home on right-fielder Aokis throwing error. NOTES: Mariners LHP James Paxton, who started the season at 2-0 before suffering a strained lat muscle, threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session before the game. RHP Taijuan Walker (right shoulder impingement) will have his first bullpen session Sunday. There is no timetable for either pitcher. Also, RHP Stephen Pryor, coming off shoulder surgery, is back with Triple-A Tacoma. . Kyle Seager was a late scratch for the Mariners because of flu-like symptoms. Bloomquist replaced him. . The Royals pre-game move to promote Giavotella was necessary because of Omar Infantes ailing back. Infante missed Thursdays game and will be rested for the series. Giavotella was hitting .352 for Triple-A Omaha. To make room, the club sent RHP Michael Mariot to Omaha. Discount Air Max . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. Cheap Nike Air Max Shoes Wholesale .In the Football Money League compiled by accountancy firm Deloitte, German champion Bayern Munich remained third but Barcelona dropped from second to fourth during its trophyless 2014.In the 2013-2014 financial year, Real generated 549. http://www.cheapairmaxstore.com/. They probably ruined Tim Duncans hopes of a career change, though. Duncan wants to be a point guard, coach Gregg Popovich revealed Saturday, a wish that wont be granted. Cheap Air Max Shoes . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Wholesale Air Max From China . Forward Iker Muniain scored the winner in the 70th minute after Bilbaos incessant pressure recovered the ball and sparked a counterattack inside Barcelonas half. Neymar was once again tagged to pick up Messis goal-scoring duties, but when he wasnt frustrated by slippery footing Bilbaos defence got the better of him.LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND -- Graham DeLaet was on the course on Monday, playing a dozen or so holes to see the course and shake off the jet lag. This is the fifth major for DeLaet and hes missed the cut in the previous three, admitting that while he likes the test of the biggest tournaments, his record isnt all that good. However, he attributed much of his performance to learning the nuances of major championship golf. DeLaet also said that last year at Muirfield, his wrist took a beating due to the firmness of the turf and the steepness of his swing. The ground here at Royal Liverpool is a bit more lush than a year earlier which may help the Canadian. -- Phil Mickelson handed over the Claret Jug on Monday, a tradition the defending champion goes through each year. As do most winners, the lefthander took the trophy to every clambake and family outing he could, sharing it with friends whove helped him along in his career. Mickleson arrives in Liverpool in the midst of what most would consider a down year. He has no wins and not even a top-10 finish to speak of. But, not surprisingly, hes upbeat. “Well, it obviously hasnt been a good year,” he said. “Normally I would be discouraged or frustrated, but Im just not. Im not frustrated and Im not discouraged. I feel like Ive had some good breakthroughs in some areas. I havent had the results, I know I havent played well. But the parts feel a lot better than the whole right now.&rrdquo; Mickelson has armed himself with a few new clubs in the bag this week.dddddddddddd Hes added a two-iron as well as a 64-degree wedge that has almost no bounce. Its the only tournament where hell carry these weapons. -- On Monday, members of the International Golf Federation met with the media. Thats the group charged with running golf in the Olympics, among other things. Of course the hot topic is the golf course, which, as with many of the facilities in Rio, is behind schedule. Ian Andrew outlined some of the issues in the latest SCOREGolf Magazine. The powers that be seem to think it will be completed on time and Ty Votaw, who works for the PGA Tour but is also the IGFs vice-president, said there will be a test event prior to the Olympics although there wont be any time to make any changes of significance after that. He also said there is an emergency plan in place. “Well, as far as contingency plan,” he stated, “I think were in no different place than all the other sports in the Olympic games for Rio 2016 and the readiness and preparedness of Rio. “But, yes, we do have plans in place, but were not going to tell you what they are.” -- The weather outlook for the Open, always a concern, is calling for a nice opening day on Thursday with unseasonably warm temperatures (that means getting into the 20s). But the remaining three days arent so positive with thunderstorms in the forecast. ' ' '