Perez thankful for Holland’s mentoring, but wants to beat him

Left-handers Martin Perez and Derek Holland are listed as the probable starting pitchers for Saturday at Globe Life Park, and the two fostered a nice friendship while Texas Rangers teammates.

Holland, now with the Chicago White Sox, was an established member of the Rangers’ rotation in 2012, when Perez made his MLB debut. Perez latched onto Holland as he tried to learn the ropes, and Holland latched onto Perez.

“Coming up that was the guy who helped me and taught me how to work on this level,” Perez said. “I really would say to him ‘thank you’ for all the things he told me and helped me with my career and the things we did together as pitchers to help the team win.”

Perez said that he would work out with Holland in the weight room because of how hard Holland worked.

“I always wanted to have a model,” Perez said. “He’s a great guy.”

The two spoke on the field Thursday, when Holland reminded Perez of the matchup. Perez, who has won his past two starts, has a simple goal.

“Win the game, man,” he said.

This story was originally published August 18, 2017 at 7:26 PM with the headline "Perez thankful for Holland’s mentoring, but wants to beat him."