Rockies Recap: Kyle Freeland, named opening day starter, charged with seven runs

Royals 10, Rockies 2

Sunday at Salt River Fields

On the mound: Kyle Freeland, after officially being named the Opening Day starter, posted a poor line, but he didn’t pitch that badly. Spotty defense and some mental miscues hurt the lefty. The Royals tagged him for seven earned runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. Freeland walked two, hit a batter and struck out five. The good news is that he threw 76 pitches, 52 for strikes. … Right-hander Jake Bird, a possible long reliever, pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on two hits. Bird has a 3.27 ERA. … Closer candidate Seth Halvorsen pitched a scoreless ninth, walking one.

At the plate: Sean Bouchard played outfield and first base and hit his third homer of the spring. He’s had an excellent camp and is hitting .378 with a 1.152 OPS. Bouchard has options remaining, which might figure into his status as the Rockies set their 26-man roster. … Catcher Jacob Stallings, hitting .333, went 2 for 3 with a two-out RBI.