Derek Holland did exactly what every Rangers fan, the Rangers front office, and Holland's teammates wanted him to do on Wednesday night.
With his 7-inning, 1-run outing against the Cleveland Indians in the Rangers 9-1 win on Wednesday, Holland instilled confidence in his teammates and manager that he can go out and shut down a lineup.
When he's on, Holland might have the best stuff of any of the Rangers starters, including ace C.J. Wilson, but he's just had problems being consistent and keeping his head in the game.
The 24-year-old lefty now has four straight quality starts, after he had never previously had more than two consecutive prior to this streak.
He's now 6-1 over his last 10 games and has watched his ERA drop to 4.02 as he picked up his 14th win of the season on Wednesday. In his last four outings, he's gone 6 2/3, 7, 6 2/3 and 7 innings with the other three of those coming against the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels and the surging Tampa Bay Rays.
What's this mean for Holland? Well, by now he's assured a spot in the playoff starting rotation should the Rangers hold off the Angels. If the Rangers start on the road, he'll likely start Game 3 at home, if they start at home, he'd possibly start Game 2 at home.
Whatever the case, it appears Holland has finally found what Rangers fans have waited for him to find for a few years now.
