Holland, Rangers can’t put finger on Astros in 9-7 loss

The middle finger on Derek Holland’s pitching hand, the one smacked by a line drive to his first batter Saturday, was good enough for him to pitch five innings.

That’s what he said. No excuses.

The allegedly troublesome “Wild Thing” hairdo, shed a few days ago in favor of a high-and-tight buzz cut, can no longer be targeted as an issue.

Nor were the occasionally tight strike zone of umpire Brian Knight or the Crawford Boxes that turned a double into a two-run home run.

But there is an issue, or multiple issues, with Holland as the Texas Rangers try to lock down their first division title since 2011.

His takeaway was that he pitched better Saturday but still wasn’t good enough as the Houston Astros snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Rangers with a homer-driven 9-7 victory at Minute Maid Park.

And then there’s the finger. Holland might not have used it as an excuse, but it could be an issue.

“I went out and still competed,” Holland said. “If I have to play hurt like that, it’s fine. A few pitches didn’t get where they needed to be, off-speed-wise. That cost me going a little longer. I tried everything to stay out there a little longer.”

The Rangers’ lead in the American League West dropped to 4  1/2 games over Houston with eight remaining, and their magic number held at five after only their eighth loss in 24 September games.

The Astros swatted six homers.

Holland wasn’t the losing pitcher in a game that the Rangers were a ninth-inning swing away from winning, but he surrendered leads of 3-0 and 4-1 by allowing three homers among the seven hits against him.

One of the two homers hit by Carlos Correa off Holland is a homer only at Minute Maid, where the Crawford Boxes turn straightaway left field into a short porch. The two-run homer came after Holland twice thought he had retired George Springer, on a third strike that was called a ball and on a liner that popped out of Adrian Beltre’s glove.

Correa’s first was a moon shot two batters after Jose Altuve’s line drive caught Holland’s middle finger, his most important finger as he pitches. He said after the game that the finger was still sore, but treatment had kept the swelling down.

“I got smoked,” Holland said.

Holland has one more start remaining this season, assuming allows him to pitch. He would almost certainly be in the Rangers’ playoff rotation should they advance to a division series, and he would be in line to start the first game, if the rotation holds through the rest of the season.

But Holland has lost three of his past four decisions and hasn’t allowed fewer than four runs in any of them. He hasn’t lasted longer than five innings in the past three.

Despite the finger woes, Holland said that he commanded his fastball better but struggled with some off-speed pitches. The homers hit by Correa came on poorly executed off-speed pitches, and the homer Altuve hit to start the third was on a slider down the middle.

The Rangers scored three two-out runs in the first, two on a double by Mitch Moreland, and Shin-Soo Choo homered to the Crawford Boxes in the third to make it 4-1. Altuve and Correa homered moments later to tie it.

The Astros took a 5-4 lead as Chris Carter homered to start the sixth, two pitches after Chi Chi Gonzalez (4-6) replaced Holland. The Astros scored three unearned run in the seventh, an inning that started with a leadoff walk and the first error by first baseman Mitch Moreland in 91 games.

The Rangers trailed 9-4 with two outs in the ninth, but they strung together four straight hits to make it 9-7. After Beltre was hit, Moreland batted as the potential go-ahead run but grounded out.

“He threw me a breaking ball and I hit it to second base,” Moreland said. “That’s what you play for right there. Keep putting pressure on guys. We’ve been able to do it all year, and it was another example today. We never give up. We fight all 27 outs. It was a fun game and we were on the wrong end of it, but we’ll carry some momentum into tomorrow.”

The Rangers will know more about Holland’s finger Sunday before the finale of the three-game series. He refused to use it as an excuse Saturday, but it could be an issue.

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Holland, Rangers can’t put finger on Astros in 9-7 loss."