Surprise, Ariz. ? Scott Feldman allowed a run and three hits in his sixth spring training start, and the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 9-3, on Thursday.

The start may be Feldman’s last for a while because the Rangers are moving him to the bullpen to start the season. Kris Benson, a non-roster invitee who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2006, will join Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Matt Harrison and Brandon McCarthy in Texas’ rotation.

“If I was making the lineup out and I could put myself somewhere, I’d obviously put myself somewhere in the starting rotation,” said Feldman, who moved to the rotation last year after starting his career as a reliever. “That’s just me.”

Feldman finished spring training with a 5.40 earned-run average.

“I worked hard and prepared myself to be a starter,” Feldman said. “I don’t think anything is handed to you. I feel like it’s going to better for the team this way. I hope I can stay stretched out. If I’m pitching one inning at a time, I won’t be stretched out.”

Horacio Ramirez, who will be the Royals’ No. 5 starter, gave up six runs on nine hits, including a three-run homer to Adam Fox in the fifth. He has a 9.00 ERA in seven exhibition games.

“I thought I made just one bad pitch, the three-run home run,” Ramirez said. “I thought everything else was pretty good. I’m happy where I’m at.”

Ramirez’s first start will be April 12 against the New York Yankees. He will likely make only one more start before April 30 and will be used as a left-handed reliever for most of the month.

“Somebody has got to do it and that’s me,” Ramirez said. “I’ve done this before, so I have an idea on how to handle it. I’m looking forward to it. Whoever is on the mound that day is the No. 1 guy, that’s the way I look at it. I’m happy with it.”

Royals manager Trey Hillman said Ramirez pitched “pretty good” until the three-run home run:

“He left that pitch out over the plate and unfortunately it was another multi-run inning. I still see a lot of possibilities with him in that five slot. Hopefully he performs well.”