Surprise, Ariz. ? Jose Lima pitched out of trouble in each of his three innings to lead the Kansas City Royals over the Seattle Mariners, 6-0, Wednesday.

Lima, the Royals’ only significant free-agent signee this offseason, gave up five singles and walked three. Lima used double plays in the first and third innings to stop Seattle rallies.

The Mariners loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Lima struck out Jamal Strong and retired Ichiro Suzuki on a grounder to first baseman Mike Sweeney to end the inning.

“I got the bases loaded, but that didn’t bother me,” Lima said. “I’m a better pitcher when I’m in trouble. I made some good pitches. I didn’t try to be too fine.”

Rookie right-hander Denny Bautista replaced Lima and limited the Mariners to one hit over three innings while striking out four.

The Royals sent eight men to the plate in a four-run first off Mariners rookie right-hander Felix Hernandez. Two of the runs were unearned after first baseman Richie Sexson made an error, the first of four Seattle miscues.

Angel Berroa, the 2003 AL Rookie of the Year, led the Royals with three hits — two doubles — two RBIs and two runs scored. John Buck, who was 0-for-6 in his previous two games, had two of the Royals’ 10 hits.

Adrian Beltre had two hits for the Mariners, but his seventh inning throwing error allowed Ruben Gotay, who had doubled, to score with two outs.