Derek Holland didn’t have any surprises for his former teammates Saturday, and he acknowledged as much after the White Sox’ 10-4 loss, saying the Rangers “knew what was coming” and teed off on their teammate of eight years.
“I know they were ready for me to come inside,” Holland said. “It was just one of those things. You’ve got to battle with those guys. They know you, you know them. Just didn’t come out on top.”
Holland exchanged glances with players after several of his six strikeouts, but the Rangers had the last laugh.
After being limited to one run through four innings, the Rangers scored three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to take -control.
Elvis Andrus, who came up with Texas at the same time as Holland, smacked a fifth-inning home run to left field that barely cleared the fence with the help of the wind.
Holland said Andrus will own the bragging rights between the two for now.
“I know I’m gonna hear about that one,” he said. “Thank god [for him] that the wind was behind it. I thought it was a routine fly ball.”
Holland made it through 5„ innings but gave up five runs, five hits and two walks. It was his first game against his former team.
The left-hander has struggled against just about every team he has faced at home this season, going 1-5 with a 7.81 ERA and allowing 10 homers in his last seven games at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“[He was] not as good as we would have wanted,” manager Rick Renteria said. “He worked through some deep counts today. He tried to give us what he could give us. We sent him back out in the sixth. Today just didn’t work out.”
Renteria added that playing a former team has no impact on a player’s mindset.
“I think most guys have been around long enough where they’re able to compartmentalize and separate the relationships they have as friends,” Renteria said. “He’s going out there to compete. Obviously, there are guys over there he’s probably grown close to. But in the end, you go out there to try to do your job. I don’t think that was a factor at all.”
The Rangers gave the Sox’ relievers a run for their money, too, scoring a run each off Chris Beck and David Holmberg and three off Michael Ynoa.
Holmberg had his streak of 12„ consecutive scoreless innings snapped in the eighth by giving up his first home run as a reliever to Rougned Odor.
Ynoa owns an 11.07 ERA in his last 11 outings, and opponents are hitting .327 against him during that span.
“My job was to continue to battle and save the bullpen as much as I can,” Holland said. “Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen.”
Perhaps the bigger problem facing the Sox on Saturday was Rangers starter Cole Hamels, who picked up his first win in four road starts.
Hamels gave up a two-run home run to Jose Abreu in the first inning but then settled in. He retired the last 19 batters he faced and struck out six.
“He was pitching effectively,” center fielder Adam Engel said. “I can’t speak for everybody else, but he had a good plan against me.”
Hamels has made four career starts against the Sox and hasn’t lost.
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