On a 100-degree night, Texas Rangers starter Derek Holland wasn't around long enough to break a decent sweat.
Holland got two outs in the shortest start of his career, serving up a first-inning grand slam to Hanley Ramirez in the Florida Marlins' 9-5 victory Saturday night.
"When I came out of the game, I was ready to break something," Holland said. "I was very frustrated."
The Marlins knocked out Holland (6-4) with a five-run first.
The first three Florida batters reached to load the bases, and Ramirez lined Holland's 3-2 pitch into the first row of seats in right field for his fifth career grand slam.
When Wes Helms added a two-out RBI double in the first for a 5-0 lead, manager Ron Washington removed Holland and brought in Tommy Hunter for his first appearance of the season. Hunter was activated from the disabled list on Friday, having missed the first 82 games with a groin injury.
Holland threw 46 pitches in a top of the first that lasted 28 minutes, allowing four hits.
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"He just wasn't throwing the ball over the plate," Washington said. "Today just wasn't his day. Some days you go through that. It was just bad for the team we had to go to the bullpen that early."
Holland has been inconsistent, getting credit for wins in two straight starts only once in his 17 outings this season.
"It really ticks me off more than anything," Holland said. "I'm very frustrated because I know what I'm capable of doing. Today was a terrible way of showing what I'm capable of doing. Give up the grand slam, I was frustrated with that, but I've still got to pitch. Just because I gave up four runs, this team is very capable of getting those four runs back."
Washington said there are games when Holland allows his emotions to take control.
"He's a young kid out there," Washington said. "Sometimes his nerves get to him a little bit. As time moves on and you're in the big leagues for a while, you learn to control that. It just got to him today."
Ramirez's grand slam got his team's offense rolling. His solo homer off Darren O'Day in the seventh helped finish off the Rangers.
Ramirez had three hits and a career high-tying five RBIs as the Marlins overcame Josh Hamilton's two homers.
Logan Morrison also homered for the Marlins, 5-6 since Jack McKeon took over as interim manager on June 20.
"I mean, the last five games, I think we"ve been playing the game together and we've been getting on base and working on that, not like we were doing that a week, two weeks or three weeks ago," Ramirez said.
Florida rookie starter Brad Hand lasted only 3 1-3 innings. The Marlins recalled Hand from Double-A Jacksonville for the start. When he walked two of the first three batters he faced in the fourth, McKeon brought in Steve Cishek despite Florida's 6-2 lead.
Cishek (1-1) gave up three runs -- two earned -- and two hits in 2 2-3 innings for his first big league victory.
Gaby Sanchez's second-inning sacrifice fly off Hunter bumped the Marlins' lead to 6-0. Florida took advantage of two errors by Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba, with Emilio Bonifacio reaching on a bunt attempt when Torrealba threw wildly to first, and Bonifacio hustling to third on a steal and off-target throw to second by Torrealba.
Third-inning solo homers off Hand by Ian Kinsler and Hamilton pulled the Rangers to 6-2, and Hamilton's two-run shot in the fifth off Cishek made it 6-4.
The Marlins loaded the bases with one out in the sixth against Hunter, who was replaced by Darren O'Day after Bonifacio's line drive struck Hunter in the left foot. The Rangers later said Hunter wasn't removed from the game due to injury.
Before the game, O'Day was activated off the 60-day disabled list after recovering from left hip surgery.
Omar Infante's sixth-inning sacrifice fly off O'Day extended Florida's edge to 7-4, but the Rangers made it a two-run game in the sixth when Craig Gentry scored from second after shortstop Ramirez dropped Kinsler's two-out popup for an error.
Notes: Kinsler has four homers in his last five games. ... Washington has AL All-Star selection duties on Sunday morning. He said much of the work has already been done. "It's been an education, really," Washington said of his first shot as an All-Star manager. "It's been interesting and fun. I haven't felt this much pressure since the World Series." ... The Rangers announced the signing of CF Desmond Henry, their fourth-round pick in the June draft.
