ARLINGTON, Texas?Derek Holland took a second to look around before he stood up and prepared himself.
It was a World Series game and the fans were going berserk. The gravity of the situation on the field was obvious and the tension would have taken a chainsaw to get through.
Holland, at 25 years old and from an Ohio town of less than 50,000 people and from a junior college set in an Alabama settlement of fewer than 4,000, soaked up the moment. Then he put on his glove, took the ball and toed the rubber?in the Texas Rangers bullpen. This was Thursday night, and some of his teammates were trying to nail down a Game 2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Instead of being focused on that situation, Holland concentrated on throwing his bullpen session.
He was trying to acclimate himself to the pressure, the noise and the atmosphere and to get his adrenaline going as if he was about to pitch for real. Holland can be something of an anxious type, so as best he could, he wanted to recreate what would greet him when he took the ball for Game 4 on Sunday night at Rangers Ballpark.
It worked. Holland kept his emotions in check. He held St. Louis? offense to no runs and two hits over 8 1/3 innings, one night after it exploded for 16 runs and abused Texas? bullpen. His performance led to a 4-0 victory and evened this World Series at two games each.
Holland was dazzling. He retired 16 of the first 17 batters he faced, with help from a double play, and he set down 25 of 27 through the first out of the ninth. Then he walked Rafael Furcal and manager Ron Washington exited the dugout with hook in hand.
That?s when Holland?s emotions finally got the best of him. After the game, he recounted his meeting with Washington on the mound. It went something like this:
?Look, Wash. I?ve made it this far. I?ve been working my butt off. Let me get this,? Holland said, begging like a kid trying to stay up past his bedtime.
?No, you ain?t gonna do that, son. You gotta get out of here and just listen to the crowd on your way out. We're done with you,? Washington responded in his thick, gruff Louisiana accent.
?C?mon, Wash. I can get the double play. I?m telling you, I?ll do every thing I can to get it,? Holland responded.
?No, you gotta get on outta here now, son. Listen to that crowd and enjoy that, son,? was Washington?s reply.
In the end, the manager won and Neftali Feliz came on to close out the win.
?It?s me against Wash,? Holland said. ?It?s a 25-year-old guy against a guy that knows what he?s doing. Wash is going to win that. So out I went.?
People in Rangers uniforms and those who know the team well say what everyone witnessed Sunday was the good Derek, the Derek who controls the strike zone and brushes the sides of the plate with everything in his repertoire. The bad Derek is the lefthander who gave up five runs in two-thirds of an inning in a July start against the Florida Marlins.
That Derek isn?t completely gone, but he?s close to leaving the building. For good, maybe. Holland struggled in his previous two postseason starts this year, but before October hit, he had gone 10-1 with a 2.77 ERA over his final 15 regular season turns and finished the season tied for the AL lead with four shutouts.
Game 4 was more of that goodness, and Holland, his teammates and his manager say they get that version when Holland is relaxed and able to forget his mistakes. The bad comes when he doubts himself, wondering if the Rangers wasted a 25th-round pick in 2006.
Since early July, everyone says, the latter Derek Holland has not existed.
?He responds a lot better now, not letting a poor outing carry over to the next day,? teammate and fellow starter Colby Lewis said. ?That?s why I?m super proud of him, watching him grow and develop into the type of pitcher he should be.
?It?s (being) comfortable. It?s knowing that he belongs here and if he has a bad one, not saying, ?Oh, am I going to go back to Triple-A now???
Holland no longer wonders that. He knows he belongs, and this outing proved it. He motored through St. Louis? lineup and kept Albert Pujols off the bases all three times he faced him. A night earlier, Pujols made World Series history with three home runs.
?I wanted to redeem myself from my last start,? said Holland, who gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings against Detroit in the ALCS in his previous outing. ?You don?t think about that stuff. It?s a new day.
?The big thing I just kept telling myself it?s a boxing match with nine innings, and between each round I go in there and calm myself down.?
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