Cooling off: Rockies' struggles continue in loss to the Royals

The Colorado Rockies have had one long losing streak already in Cactus League play. They closed the latest week of spring training mired in another one.

On Sunday, the Rockies lost to the Kansas City Royals 10-2, as Colorado’s pitching staff did struggle early. Those struggles included starter Kyle Freeland, who is likely going to end up being the Rockies’ opening day starter. Freeland did strike out five Royals, but he spotted K.C. a 2-0 lead in four innings of work.

From there, the Rockies’ bullpen, which is a unit under the microscope this spring, allowed just four more hits, and the trio of Diego Castillo, Jimmy Herget and Seth Halvorson, completely shut down the Royals the rest of the way. So again, the pitching was a mixed bag.

The pitchers didn’t get much help however. 

One bright spot came from Sean Bouchard, who homered in the game, and who is pushing for a roster spot. For the second straight day, Ezequiel Tovar swung a hot bat, while stalwarts Brenton Doyle and Ryan McMahon garnered hits as well.

Still, there’s no doubt that after a strong first two weeks of Cactus League play, the Rockies have cooled off in all phases. Offensively, the Rockies have dipped to a .262 team batting average, while their team ERA has grown to 4.67, which is inching up towards where they finished the 2024 season.

And still, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish and Bud Black will be looking at the enxt seven days to see just how Colorado closes out spring training. 

The Rockies (12-11) have Monday off before hosting the Giants at 7:40 p.m. on Tuesday night at Salt River Fields.