ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Jason Vargas kept Tampa Bay hitters off-balance and Alex Gordon enjoyed the view from his new spot in center field.

Vargas pitched seven innings and allowed three hits to help lead the Kansas City Royals to a 6-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon.

"To play center and watch him go both sides of the plate, off-speed, fastballs in, and just work a hitter it was pretty fun to watch from center field," Gordon said. "To kind of dissect hitters back and forth and changing speeds and keeping the hitter uncomfortable at the plate. I got to see that in center and it was pretty impressive."

Vargas (5-1) entered the game as the major-league leader in ERA. He struck out four and walked one while lowering his ERA to 1.01.

"I don't know if I would set a goal of a 1.00 ERA, it hasn't been done very often in this sport so I'm just trying to prepare for each time out and do the best I can from keeping guys from scoring," Vargas said.

It was his fourth start of at least six scoreless innings.

"He was really on top of his game today," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Locating pitches, changing speeds, just down in the zone consistently."

Whit Merrifield homered and drove in two runs and Salvador Perez also knocked in two for the Royals, who took three of four from the Rays in the series and have won 15 of the last 19 meetings.

"Taking three out of four against this team here, we'll take it any day," Gordon said. "It's a good series by us."

Rays starter Jake Odorizzi (2-2) allowed one run and four hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked two in a 114-pitch outing.

"Not smooth," Odorizzi said. "Just a tough day."

Tampa Bay wrapped up a nine-game homestand with a 3-6 record.

Rays left fielder Corey Dickerson took a home run away from Eric Hosmer in the first inning. Hosmer hit a fly ball down the left-field line and Dickerson made a grab over the short wall.

"That was a tremendous play," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "That excited, kind of woke up the dugout up for sure."

Merrifield left no doubt with his fly ball to left off Odorizzi in the fourth with his third home run of the season.

"It was one of those you get flush," Merrifield said. "You hit it and don't really feel it so it was a good one."

Odorizzi has allowed home runs in 11 of his last 12 starts.

The Royals blew open the game in the eighth with five runs on four hits for a 6-0 lead. Perez started the scoring with a two-run double off Diego Moreno for a 3-0 lead and Jorge Bonifacio immediately followed with a double scoring Perez.

Merrifield lined a single up the middle to score Bonifacio and came home to score on the play when the ball rolled past center fielder Kevin Kiermaier.

"When the center fielder charges the ball like that to try to throw a runner out, if it gets by him, it's a lot of room so I knew as long as I didn't trip I was going to score," Merrifield said.

It was the third error in the series for the two-time defending Gold Glove Award winner, who allowed three ground balls to roll by him.

"Just unbelievable," Kiermaier said. "For me to have the defensive series I had this past four days was unlike anything I've ever experienced."

Conversely, Gordon looked like a natural in his first career start in center field. The four-time Gold Glove Award winner in left field started in center for Lorenzo Cain, who was given the day off, and made a diving catch to his left taking a hit away from Tim Beckham in the sixth.

Gordon also made an impressive catch in center as a defensive replacement in Wednesday's game.

"I think yesterday was my audition and Ned said if I didn't screw up, then maybe I'd play the next day," Gordon said. "I think that catch helped and he put me out there today. It was a lot of fun."

Tampa Bay's Peter Bourjos and Logan Morrison each hit two-out doubles in the third and fourth innings, but were left stranded on fly outs.

"We were in a pretty good rhythm at that point and were able to just kind of turn the page and go to the next hitter and get ourselves out of there," Vargas said.

NOTES: Royals C Salvador Perez went 8-for-14 in the series and is a career .308 (28-for-91) hitter at Tropicana Field, where he made his major-league debut on Aug. 10, 2011. ... Rays OF Steven Souza Jr. (right thumb contusion) missed his third consecutive game and is considered day-to-day. ... Royals LHP Jason Vargas has a career record of 72-71 and is over .500 for the first time since 2005 when he was 5-4. ... Rays CF Kevin Kiermaier already has four errors after making two all of last season. ... Royals RHP Al Alburquerque made his season debut by pitching the ninth.