Rangers 6, Rockies 5, at Surprise Stadium
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Rockies pitchers had to deal with a lot of traffic in a 6-5 Cactus League loss to Texas Monday afternoon. Starter Kyle Freeland, bidding for a spot at the back of the rotation, was inconsistent but never let the game unravel.
For starters: Freeland’s outing lacked sharpness and his line showed it: 4 ⅔ innings, four runs, seven hits, three walks and five strikeouts. He gave up a double and a solo homer to Mike Napoli and needed 94 pitches (56 strikes) to wade through less than five innings.
“Throughout the game, my command wasn’t there,” Freeland said. “It was one of those games where nothing came with ease. I had to battle … Games like these test you to see if you can keep a team within a certain number of runs and keep your team in it.”
Hits: Alexi Amarista, the versatile, 5-foot-6, 158-pound utility player, crushed a solo homer to dead center to tie the game 3-3 in the fifth. … Freeland helped his own cause by bouncing a two-out, two-run, bases-loaded single up the middle in the second inning. … Utility outfielder Chris Denorfia, looking to clinch a roster spot, continues to impress. He made a nice catch against the right-field wall in the second.
Misses: Shortstop Trevor Story went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. He has 18 strikeouts in 53 at-bats, a strikeout percentage of .339. … Catcher Tony Wolters failed to handle some breaking balls in the dirt by Greg Holland, including one on strike three that was ruled a wild pitch and extended the Rangers’ inning. … Overall, Holland was not sharp, giving up two runs on three hits.
Up next: Rockies (15-14) host Texas (14-16) at 1:10 p.m. (MDT) Tuesday at Salt River Fields
Rockies probables: RHP Antonio Senzatela, RHP Adam Ottavino, RHP Scott Oberg
BOXSCORE:
Rangers probables: RHP A.J. Griffin, LHP Alex Claudio, RHP Mike Hauschild
