RADIO
Derek Holland returned from a season-long injury on Wednesday by allowing two runs in over 6 1/3 innings pitched for the Texas Rangers 7-2 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Holland, 28, was yanked after one inning during his first start of the season back in April. A shoulder injured forced him to stay on the sidelines until mid-August. In his return, the Rangers couldn’t been any happier because he struck out six, allowed eight hits and walked none en route to the victory.
“I was surprised he was as sharp as he was,” Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon told Dallsnews.com. “He's a big-game pitcher. He had his good stuff. He had his A-game today.
The Rangers spotted him early with three runs in the bottom of the first. The lefty had a cushion right from the start and showed he could be a factor in their rotation as they try to sneak into the postseason. Texas is one game out of the second Wild Card spot in the AL while also 3 1/2 out of first place in the AL West.
Injuries have hindered Holland’s last two seasons but when healthy in 2013, he pitched to a 3.42 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 189/64 K/BB ratio over 213 innings. In six starts last season, he owned a 1.46 ERA.
