Derek Holland gave Texas Rangers fans a glimpse of something they hoped and thought they might never see again on Wednesday night.
In a stunning 21-8 loss to the Seattle Mariners, Holland failed to get out of the second inning after giving up eight runs and watching his season ERA soar over 5.00, despite looking like he was in for another stellar outing after he needed just 10 pitches to retire the side in the first inning with two strikeouts.
The second inning saw quite the 180-degree turn for Holland, who wasn't a victim of shaky defense like Scott Feldman was on Tuesday, but instead gave up eight hits and eight runs before walking the last two batters he saw and forcing a reluctant Ron Washington to go get him. In turn, the Rangers burned their bullpen as everyone pitched except for Joe Nathan, but luckily they have an off-day Thursday to recover before heading to Los Angeles for a pivotal series with the surging Angels.
After the game, Holland was none too pleased with his performance, especially seeing how it started.
"I felt like I had everything going for me," Holland told the media after the game. "I thought for sure today was the day. I came back out and 'blank' hit the fan. It's unbelievable. Things just didn't go my way. I didn't get the job done."
The start resembled a few of his starts in 2011, when he was wildly inconsistent over the season's first half before settling in and becoming one of the best pitchers in baseball over the second half and into the postseason. The line from Wednesday is a wart over his past 10 games, when he made it through six innings all but once before Wednesday.
"It's very frustrating," Holland said. "I wish I could say what I really want to say, but it's really upsetting to have something like that happen to you when you've been working so hard. It's one of those nights. I have to shake it off."
