Derek Holland grew up a lot in the regular season in 2011.
The Dutch Oven, with his sweet 'stache in tow, went 16-5 with a 3.95 ERA in the regular season and while he went on a great stretch after July 1, his teammates definitely helped him compile his 16 wins.
Maybe it's because they just like him, or maybe, more realistically, they know there's more on their shoulders when the sometimes combustible 25-year-old lefty takes the hill, but the Rangers bats go absolutely crazy when Holland pitches.
In the regular season, Holland led all of MLB's starting pitchers with 9.23 runs of support per nine innings pitched by Holland. In the playoffs, Holland is getting a staggering 19.76 runs, thanks to his short starts this postseason and the Rangers' offensive outbursts in those games.
Time will tell what Ron Washington decides to do with Holland in the World Series. While he started Game 2 in the ALCS and ALDS, conventional wisdom would point to Colby Lewis starting Game 2 on the road in St. Louis given his drastically different numbers on the road vs. at home.
Whenever Holland does take the hill, which would likely be Game 3 or Game 4, just expect the Rangers to put up about 10 runs.
