May can’t be over quick enough for Rangers pitcher Derek Holland
Derek Holland won’t look back at May of 2016 as one of the best months of his baseball career. The Texas Rangers pitcher is sporting an ERA this month that has one digit too many — a plump 13.91. Ouch.
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Holland’s May has been so bad that he entered the month with a 2.48 ERA for the season and currently sits at 5.63, which if your math isn’t great is more than twice what it was when the calendar flipped. He makes his fourth start of the month on Monday when the Rangers face the Los Angeles Angels and you can watch the game live on Yahoo Sports to see whether Holland turns things around or digs himself deeper into a May despair.
Rangers-Angels is the Free Game of the Day right here and you can stream it free on Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home. First pitch is at 8:05 p.m. ET. Local blackouts apply, according to MLB rules.
Holland, 29, returns to the mound after an uncommon seven days off. Maybe it’s enough rest to have figured some things out? He has a history of being up-and-down. When he’s on, he’s capable of baffling opposing hitters, racking up the K’s and looking like an upper rotation type of pitcher. When he’s not, well, we saw that version of him earlier this month.
On May 5, he gave up 11 hits and 11 runs in 2.2 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays. It wasn’t an isolated incident, as he then gave up five runs on eight hits in 2.1 innings against the Chicago White Sox on May 10. Things were better when Holland faced the A’s. He gave up just two runs in six innings, but still left with a loss.
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His current May stat line looks like this: 0-2 in 11 innings, 22 hits, 18 runs, 17 of them earned with five walks and only three strikeouts.
That last part is most troubling. Three strikeouts in three starts isn’t good at all, especially when Holland’s career strikeouts-per-nine innings average is 7.30. His K/9 rate is 4.73 this season, down from 6.29 last season, which was down from 7.99 in 2013.
Even when Holland has pitched to good results this season, the Ks just haven’t been there. Against the same Angels team he’ll face on Monday night, Holland threw six shutout innings on April 30, allowing four hits but only striking out one hitter.
So, as you watch Holland and the Rangers on Monday night, look for the Ks and look for the whiffs. If you see those, it may not be another tough night for Holland.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
