TORONTO -- The Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays both had plenty of opportunities to score runs Friday night. The Royals took advantage of their chances while the Blue Jays came up empty. Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain homered as Kansas City defeated Toronto 6-1 on a glorious spring evening at Rogers Centre. Jose Bautista went deep for the Blue Jays, who left 14 men on base and were outhit 9-8. Jason Vargas outduelled J.A. Happ in Kansas Citys second straight victory over the Blue Jays, who had their nine-game winning streak end a night earlier. Toronto (32-24) was a woeful 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position. "When you get on one of those hot streaks that we were on, we were cashing those in," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "But Vargas was really, really good." The Kansas City starter allowed seven hits and one earned run over six innings. Gordon homered in the fourth and Cain added another two-run shot in the eighth to knock Happ out of the game. Despite the loss, Toronto maintained its 2 1/2-game lead on second-place New York in the American League East division standings after the Yankees dropped a 6-1 decision to Minnesota. The Blue Jays entered this four-game series on an offensive tear, piling up the runs over three straight series sweeps. The trick will be keeping that win streak hangover to a minimum. "When you win nine games in a row, you expect to come out the next day and win," said Toronto catcher Erik Kratz. "That mentality hasnt changed the last two nights. We were a couple inches away last night from winning and tonight we were a couple hits away from being back in this game." After the game, the Blue Jays announced that top prospect Marcus Stroman had been recalled from triple-A Buffalo and would start Saturday afternoon. "We want to see him as a starter," Gibbons said. "Hes been really good down there this year and this is his opportunity." Toronto looked ready to do some damage in the first inning after Jose Reyes led off with a triple and Bautista reached on a walk. But like he did all night, Vargas snuffed out the threat. "I feel something like that hopefully sets the tone for the game and fires us up," he said. "We were able to get a run the next inning and keep it moving from there." Kansas City (26-28) padded its lead when Gordon smacked his fourth home run of the season. That was more than enough offence for Vargas (5-2), who allowed seven hits, one earned run and three walks while striking out seven. Bautista gave the crowd of 21,543 a charge in the fifth with his 14th home run of the season. Edwin Encarnacion followed with a two-out walk but Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., struck out. Happ (4-2) was tagged for six earned runs and nine hits over 7 2/3 innings. He walked two batters and had six strikeouts. Toronto brought the potential tying run to the plate in the seventh against reliever Aaron Crow. Bautista walked and Lawrie hit a two-out single but Dioner Navarro flew out. In the eighth, Cain tacked on some insurance runs with his second home run of the season. "This is more of the offence that we envisioned coming out of spring training," said Royals manager Ned Yost. "Were not going to be a club thats going to lead the league in home runs but weve got home run power that we havent used." Recent triple-A callup Bobby Korecky relieved Happ in the eighth and retired the lone batter he faced. With the bullpen in need of a rest, he stayed on for the ninth and retired the Royals in order. Korecky was sent back down after the game. Notes: Stroman pitched in a relief role earlier this season before being stretched out again in Buffalo. The move also allows the Blue Jays to give Drew Hutchison -- whos coming off Tommy John surgery -- a little more rest. Hutchison will now start Tuesday. ... Bautista threw out a runner at first base for the second straight night. Omar Infante hit a flare into right field that he thought was going into the seats. Bautista slid and trapped the ball after it bounced before getting Infante in plenty of time at first base. "I dont know if youll see a better play in baseball today than that play right there," Yost said. "Omar hit the ball and lost it, he thought it was foul. For Bautista to come, smother the ball, one, and then still see that he had a play at first base, I dont think Ive ever seen a play like that. Tremendous play." ... Encarnacion, who has hit 16 homers this month, walked three times. ... The game took three hours one minute to play. ... Right-hander Aaron Brooks (0-0) is scheduled to start Saturday for the Royals. ... The Blue Jays have homered in 12 of their last 13 games. ... Korecky has a microscopic 0.29 earned-run average with five saves in 22 games with the Bisons. Ryan Tannehill Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. 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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The sale of the Buffalo Bills entered the next phase with prospective ownership groups, including Donald Trump, meeting with team officials to prepare formal bids. Two people familiar with the sale process confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that the New York real estate mogul was the first to receive a presentation. Trumps meeting was held in the Detroit-area on Wednesday. Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula and a Toronto group fronted by rocker Jon Bon Jovi also have scheduled meetings. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the sale process is private. The Bills are on the market after Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson died in March. The Buffalo News first reported the development on its website. During the meetings, prospective buyers receive extensive financial and background information on the franchise. Bids are expected to be submitted within three weeks. A prospective owner is expected to be identified by the end of next month, and then presented to NFL owners for approval at league meetings in New York in early October. Bills president Russ Brandon is involved in making the presentations on behalf of Morgan Stanley, the banking firm hired by Wilsons estate to oversee the sale. Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly and his brother Dan Kelly, who runs the familys business interests, are also involved in the meetings. Though the Kellys have expressed interest in purchasing the team, its unclear if they have submitted a bid. The Pegulas and Trump are considered the front-runners. Both have the assets to complete what is expected to be a $1 billion-plus purchase, and they also have expressed a commitment to keep the Bills in western New York. Terry Pegula was last valued by Forbes to have a net worth of $3.3 billion. Thhat was before Pegula closed a $1.dddddddddddd75 billion deal on Tuesday to sell about 75,000 acres of drilling rights to American Energy Partners. Trump was last valued with a net worth of $3.9 billion. That does not include his holdings in numerous properties, including several high-profile golf resorts he recently purchased. The Bon Jovi-fronted group is made up of Toronto-based partners, Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and the Rogers family, which controls Rogers Communications. However, its unclear whether Bon Jovi has the liquid assets to buy the Bills if the sale price goes above $1.2 billion. Under NFL rules, a principal owner must have enough cash and use no more than $200 million in debt-financing to hold a minimum 30 per cent ownership stake. Forbes most recently valued Bon Jovis net worth at $290 million. Bon Jovi also faces questions about his long-term intentions to keep the team in the Buffalo area, which is a prerequisite in the sale process. Last weekend, Bon Jovi had a letter published in The Buffalo News stating that his objective was "to carry on the legacy of Ralph Wilson and make the Bills successful in Buffalo." He didnt state in the seven-paragraph letter that he was committed to keeping the franchise in Buffalo. The letter was received with some skepticism in Buffalo and among Bills fans. The commitment Bon Jovi provided was working with state and local officials to identify a site for a potential new stadium. Under the current lease, reached in December 2012, the Bills would incur a $400 million penalty for broaching the prospect of moving during the 10-year agreement. There is a one-time exception that would allow the Bills to break the agreement for just under $28.4 million in 2020. ' ' '