Derek Holland turned in the best start in Rangers postseason history almost four years ago to the day when he tossed 8 1/3 shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4 of the 2011 World Series to even up the series. It was a thing of beauty.
On Monday, in his first postseason start since that day, he turned in the worst start in Rangers playoff history in Game 4 of the ALDS against Toronto — a game that would've ended the series had the Rangers won.
Turns out, they never had a shot.
The Rangers trailed 3-0 before they even stepped in the batter's box, and by the time Holland's day was over, he'd allowed six runs on three homers in 2-plus innings, basically throwing batting practice to the best hitting team in the league.
Everything he threw up there on Monday was high in the zone and right down the pipe, and the Jays' big hitters made him pay for his mistakes, over and over again.
It was frustrating to watch, and when Colby Lewis entered the game in relief, you had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to be much better (he was) but he'd at least compete, something Holland wasn't doing.
Holland left the field to a decent amount of boos, and while I'm generally not an advocate of home fans booing their own, it's hard to say the veteran lefty didn't deserve it. Now, if the Rangers are fortunate enough to win Game 5 on the road Wednesday, you have to wonder what Holland's status will be for the ALCS. I'm thinking he'll be sitting at home.
