KANSAS CITY, Mo. Jordan Scarlett Jersey . -- The crowd roared as Jason Vargas emerged from the dugout for the ninth inning, the Kansas City Royals trying to hold onto a 3-0 lead over the Oakland Athletics in a matchup of playoff hopefuls. Five pitches later, the crowd roared even louder. Vargas finished off his three-hitter with a flourish, breezing through the As for his sixth career shutout. It was the second shutout by Kansas City starters in the past week and the third complete game over that stretch, a big reason why the Royals are leading the AL Central. "Thats what we want to do if we want to keep playing," said Vargas, who was making just his third start since going on the disabled list for an emergency appendectomy. Vargas (9-5) retired the final 23 batters he faced, helping the Royals bounce back from having an eight-game winning streak snapped. They maintained their half-game lead over Detroit. "If its the first pitch or sixth pitch, youve got to be ready for contact for a pitch to show up in your area," said Josh Donaldson, who had one of the As three hits. "He did a good job of keeping us off balance all night." Omar Infante hit a two-run homer and Salvador Perez drove in the other run off Scott Kazmir (13-5), who lost to Kansas City for the second time in 10 days. Vargas allowed four runs over 4 1-3 innings against Oakland in his first start off the disabled list, and two runs over five innings against San Francisco his last time out. But on a mild evening at the K, he looked like the dominant left-hander of earlier this season. Mixing his pitches and catching the corners, Vargas wiggled out of a jam in the first inning and gave up a single leading off the second before muzzling Oakland the rest of the way. Vargas needed only 92 pitches over eight innings, so manager Ned Yost sent him out for the ninth rather than turn it over to All-Star closer Greg Holland. Five pitches later, he had his first shutout since last September, when he beat Oakland 3-0 as a member of the Angels. "He got back to being how he was," Yost said. Meanwhile, the Royals were giving Vargas more than enough offence. After leaving runners on the corners in the first, Kansas City broke through in the third when Nori Aoki cracked a one-out single and Infante sent a 2-0 pitch into the left-field bullpen. It was his sixth homer of the season and his first since June 27. The Royals left another runner on third in the fourth, but managed to manufacture a run in the fifth. Christian Colon led off with a single, Aoki laid down a sacrifice bunt and Infante managed to beat the throw on an infield single before Perez hit a lazy sacrifice fly to right field. Kazmir wound up allowing seven hits and a walk over seven innings. "You just have to keep after it," As manager Bob Melvin said. "At times, youre going to get well-pitched games against you and today was one of those. I dont think our approach was any worse today than it was yesterday. It was counteracted by a guy that pitched a great game." TURN OUT THE LIGHTS The game lasted 2 hours, 6 minutes, the shortest for Kansas City since Sept. 10, 2011. LEFTY HUNTER Aoki went 2 for 3 against Kazmir, raising his average to .358 against left-handers this season. Kansas City is also 29-9 in games in which he scores. AS SHUTOUTS Oakland has been shut out six times this season, twice by the Royals. The Rangers Martin Perez and the Tigers Rick Porcello have thrown shutouts. TRAINERS ROOM Athletics: SS Jed Lowrie remained in the lineup despite a fractured right index finger. ... 1B Kyle Blanks (calf strain) planned to play at Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday as he rehabs. Royals: 1B Eric Hosmer will have an X-ray Thursday on the broken bone in his right hand to determine whether he is ready to start rehabbing it. Hes been out since July 31. UP NEXT Athletics: Jeff Samardzija makes his second career appearance against Kansas City, the first a relief appearance in a 3-2 loss on Jun 25, 2011, when he was still with the Cubs. Royals: James Shields is coming off his first shutout with the Royals, a 5-0 win over San Francisco. He carried a shutout into the sixth in a win over Oakland on Aug. 3. Will Grier Womens Jersey . Adam LaRoche will take that. "I like our position in the standings and I like how our team is playing," LaRoche said after Washington swept a day-night doubleheader from the Cubs on Saturday. Jordan Scarlett Youth Jersey . "After consultation with the Team USA medical staff and officials, it was determined that he should return to Winnipeg as a precaution due to his previous injury history," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Wednesday in a statement. http://www.thepanthersofficialstore.com/authentic-donte-jackson-panthers-jersey/ . Cilic cruised to victory, beating the seventh-seeded Seppi 6-1, 6-3 in just 72 minutes. He faced only one break point, winning 24 out of 29 points played on the first serve.TORONTO - They came into the CFL combine as the top prospects and Pierre Lavertu and David Foucault didnt do anything Sunday to diminish that standing. The two offensive linemen capped the weekend with solid performances in the one-on-one drills at Varsity Stadium although Foucault, who was battling the flu, also showed he was human. The six-foot-eight, 300-pound tackle was knocked on his backside in a one-on-one matchup with Western defensive end Dylan Ainsworth, who gave up six inches and 75 pounds on the Montreal Carabins offensive lineman. "He did the bullrush and kicked my ass," Foucault said with a chuckle. "I was too high in my stance and he took advantage of my weakness. "It was a good experience here to see all the best guys in Canada as well as the CFL teams. It was a good weekend." Lavertu, a six-foot-three, 300-pound lineman from Laval, and Foucault finished the season ranked second and third, respectively, on the CFL scouting bureaus top-15 prospects for this years draft. McGill tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who ended up No. 1, didnt attend as hell hold his pro day in Montreal next week for both NFL and CFL officials. That left the offensive line contingent with three of the remaining four top-ranked players — Simon Frasers Matthias Goossen ended the year at No. 5. The other was fourth-ranked St. Francis receiver Devon Bailey. Ottawa Redblacks scout Miles Gorrell, who played 19 CFL seasons as an offensive lineman, gushed about the O-line talent at the combine. "Their footwork and hand placement are very good, its clear theyre well coached," Gorrell said. "You see guys like Pierre Lavertu, David Foucault and Matthias Goossen stepping up to the plate and being able to prove to the coaches and scouts theyre ready to take the next step. "But a kid like Jaskaran Dhillon of UBC really impressed me, this was his first year playing on the offensive line. I also thought Terry Hart from Mount Allison did a great job and I also liked Kyle Patterson of Regina and Aaron Wheaton from the U of T." Gorrell also had words of encouragement for Foucault. "Ill guarantee you every offensive lineman has had that day," he said. "You consider a defensive lineman has 12 sacks in 18 games and hes had a great year but that means the offensive line has stopped him 98 per cent of the time. "Its all about how many times did you stop your opponent and David Foucault got beat on one play and Id say he was out there for 30 plays so what would you grade that as? Yes, Dylan Ainsworth rolled him but its going to happen to the best of them ... you just hope it doesnt stay on film forever." Mike OShea, the former CFL standout linebacker whos now the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, was impressed with Lavertus play. "Polished, he looked very good," OShea said. "Theres a bunch who look ready to go in the CFL and contribute right away." Predictably, Lavertu was hard on his performance Sunday. "I think it was half and half," he said. "I won some, lost some, but overall Im satisfied. "We were up against the best (defensive linemen) in the country and I have to show the scouts Im one of the top-ranked players." Unfortunately for Lavertu and the other prospects, the CFL draft wont be held until May 13. But Lavertu has plenty to keep himself occupied with between now and then. "Ill go back to the gym to make sure I am ready," he said. "Ill work on my core, my leg strength and my technique." Manitobas Evan Gill, the scouting bureaus top-ranked defensive lineman at No. 6, displayed impressive brute strength Sunday. However, not having been in pads since the end of the season took its toll on the six-foot-three 300-pound Winnipeg native. "It was tough knocking the rust off," he said. "Youre getting a lot of reps at once and youre getting gassed out there, its tough moving at that fast pace. "But its not necessarily how you perform, its how you move, how your body works ... theyre the top coaches, theyre professionals and theyll mould you into what they want. Overall, I think the weekend was a success because I met with all nine teams and I wanted to tell them my story and I feel I accomplished that." Laval defensive back Adam Thibault was a standout individually. Thibault, ranked No. 13 on the CFLs top-15 list, had the top 40-yard dash time of 4.454 seconds and also finished first in the left and right agility drills as well as the shuttle. However Thibault, who had a personal-best 18 reps in the bench press Saturday — tops among the defensive backs — couldnt go in the one-on-one drills due to an apparent hamstring injury. Many prospects showed their versatility Sunday. Concordia defensive lineman Quinn Smith performed quite well lining up as an offensive lineman while both Ainsworth and Saint Marys Nigel Romick also worked with the linebackers. As well, Simon Fraser linebacker Casey Chin was impressive as a long-snapper. Given the limitations of a CFLs 42-man active roster, versatility is a much sought-after commodity by coaches and GMs. "The more you can do the better," Gorrell said. "If you can carry the water jug and get the coaches doughnuts, its all good." Here is a list of all the top performers in each event. Bench Press Rank Player Pos School Result 1 David Menard DL Montreal 33 T2 Pierre Lavertu OL Laval 32 T2 Terry Hart OL St. Donte Jackson Womens Jersey. Francis Xavier 32 4 Kyle Paterson OL Regina 30 T5 Matthias Goosen OL Simon Fraser 29 T5 Evan Gill DL Manitoba 29 Complete results 40-Yard Dash Rank Player Pos School Result 1 Adam Thibault DB Laval 4.45 2 Antoine Pruneau DB Montreal 4.48 3 Derek Jones DB Simon Fraser 4.51 4 Anthony Coombs RB Manitoba 4.52 5 Tore Corrado WR Simon Fraser 4.56 Complete results Vertical Jump Rank Player Pos School Result 1 Evan Pszczonak WR Windsor 40.00 2 Jesse Briggs LB McGill 38.5 3 Adam Thibault DB Laval 37.5 4 Anthony Coombs RB Manitoba 37.0 5 Andrew Lue DB Queens 36.5 Complete results Broad Jump Rank Player Pos School Result 1 Andrew Lue DB Queens 105 2 Raye Hartman DB St. Francis Xavier 104 3 Dylan Ainsworth DE Western 102.5 4 Kris Bastien WR Concordia 101 5 Kris Bastien WR Concordia 1005 Complete results Shuttle Rank Player Pos School Result 1 Adam Thibault DB Laval 4.03 2 Antoine Pruneau DB Montreal 4.05 3 Anthony Coombs RB Manitoba 4.15 4 Devon Bailey WR St. Francis Xavier 4.19 5 Tore Corrado WR Simon Fraser 4.22 Complete results Three-Cone Drill Rank Player Pos School Result 1 Tore Corrado WR Simon Fraser 7.03 2 Andrew Lue DB Queens 7.07 3 Derek Jones DB Simon Fraser 7.21 T4 Guillaume Bourassa RB Laval 7.22 T4 Eric Black DB St. Marys 7.22 Complete results ' ' '