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. Geron Christian Redskins Jersey . -- Each time the Utah Jazz threatened Memphis lead, the Grizzlies responded with defensive stops. Alex Smith Redskins Jersey . -- LeGarrette Blount wasnt satisfied with three short touchdown runs, not against a team coming off the second greatest comeback in playoff history. http://www.redskinsfansproshop.com/. -- Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu will be the Dodgers starting pitchers in their two-game season-opening series in Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pernell McPhee Redskins Jersey . Make that, almost always subjective. Saturday at Carrow Road, the spirit of fair play trumped the rulebook, costing Norwich City three points. Jonathan Allen Redskins Jersey . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days.NEW YORK, N.Y. - The officials huddled to sort out the close call, so the TV broadcast showed the clip over and over, the announcers declaring a definite touchdown.Standard fare today — but not so 35 years ago. Mike Renfro, whose lunging catch in the back of the end zone was eventually ruled incomplete, suspects thats why so many fans remember — and rue — the play from the 1979 AFC championship game.Viewers across America took in that moment and fumed, Its clear here in my den, Renfro says.Now fans think that at least a few times per game. Other sports joined the NFL in instituting video reviews, and viewers at home can follow along as their own replay officials.They can watch more and better camera angles in high-definition super slow motion. Rewind the play on their DVRs. Instantly look up analysis and images on social media. Rehash the decision on 24/7 sports television.Officiating is better than its ever been, Mike Pereira insists. But people dont think that.Pereira used to be in charge of ensuring the NFL got calls right. These days, he lets millions of fans know if a call is wrong.After retiring as the leagues officiating chief in 2010, Pereira joined Fox in a newly created role as a rules analyst. The concept proved so popular that other networks hired their own.Hes become such a part of the fabric of watching the game, says John Entz, Foxs executive producer for NFL coverage.Lead announcer Joe Buck used to espouse a less is more philosophy in analyzing questionable calls, not wanting to be burned by his lack of expertise. Then the network added what Buck calls the the greatest gift weve been given: the ability to bring in Pereira to offer an instant, definitive assessment.Fox has leaned on him heavily on critical rulings the last two Sundays.Pereira asserted that pass interference should have been called against the Cowboys in their wild-card win over the Lions. A week later, he correctly predicted that a Dallas catch would be overturned at Green Bay.Buck is no Luddite when it comes to instant replay. Yet he acknowledges he went to sleep two straight Sunday nights feeling a bit conflicted about the thrilling games he had just called: The disputed officiating decisions had overshadowed everything else.The innocence of that is gone, he says.While working the baseball playoffs last fall, Buck happened to catch an old Yankees-Dodgers World Series on MLB Network. There was a close play at first base, and Buck realized he was conditioned to expect nine replays. Instead, the announcers briefly noted it was tough to tell if the runner was safe or out, then moved on.Major League Baseball instituted video reviews for many on-field calls last season after Commissioner Bud Selig long argued human error was part of the game. The NBA has gradually expanded the scope of replay since adopting it in 2002.dddddddddddd The NHL started reviewing goals in 1991, with ongoing discussions about widening the use of video.The NFL first tried instant replay from 1986-91 and introduced the current system in 1999.Those advances allow officials to get more and more calls right. They also may make fans, players and coaches less and less tolerant when mistakes are made.Theres more pressure than ever to get it right, Entz says.But some calls will always be wrong, no matter how much replay is expanded in the future.Of the more than 40,000 plays that took place in the 2014 regular season, NFL spokesman Michael Signora says, officials were graded as correct nearly 96 per cent of the time and averaged fewer than one incorrect call per game.NBA referees are correct at a similar rate when they blow their whistles, says Rod Thorn, the leagues president of basketball operations. But when the accuracy of the calls they dont make is factored in, the percentage dips. Thats one of many pieces of data the NBA is now tracking, to try to keep up with the ever-more-demanding expectations of fans who get to dissect slow-motion, HD replays.The standard has been raised because everybody sees these things now, says Thorn, who has been involved with the league in some fashion since 1963.Watch video of old NFL games, Pereira says, and its conspicuous how many mistakes were made. Pereira wonders if the surging popularity of the sport, not to mention the rise of gambling and fantasy football, leaves fans more invested — and accordingly more infuriated at missed calls.Renfro agrees. He refuses to lament that instant replay wasnt available back in January 1980. In fact, he was ambivalent about the NFL instituting it, describing himself as old school.But as the game — and the money involved — got bigger, he came around to the idea. And he figures the most memorable play of his 10-year career probably had something to do with the policy.Fans who list the non-catch as one of the most notable botched calls in NFL history may not recall this: Had the upstart Houston Oilers been awarded the touchdown against the reigning Super Bowl champion Steelers, it merely would have tied the score late in the third quarter. Pittsburgh went on to win 27-13.What sticks in peoples minds is the loop of Renfros feet touching inbounds while NBCs Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen proclaim a touchdown.In Sundays conference championship games, Pereira and CBSs Mike Carey will be on hand for instant analysis. Pereira believes the NFL benefits from educating fans, and hes careful to disagree with a ruling, not criticize a ref.Still, he knows the scrutiny on each call will be relentless. For officials today, he says, the only acceptable level of performance is perfection.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFLBlackhawks Jerseys StoreCheap Wild JerseysCheap Red Wings JerseysCheap Maple Leafs JerseysPenguins Jerseys StoreCapitals Jerseys For SaleBlues Jerseys StoreCheap Kings JerseysAdidas Lightning JerseysStars Jerseys For SaleCheap Predators JerseysDucks StoreSharks Jerseys For SaleCheap Sabres JerseysRangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '