Holland hits reset button, gets a second chance

PHILADELPHIA - Greg Holland has waited a while to collect his first save of the season before - but that was early in his career when he wasn't an established closer. So if it took him until August to save a game, it wasn't a big deal.

But there was Holland on the Citizens Bank Park mound Tuesday night, the beneficiary of a weird, game-ending double play that culminated in a successful appeal that pinch-runner Vince Velasquez had left second base early on a flyout to center fielder Michael A. Taylor.

It took a few minutes for a replay review to confirm the final out, but when it did, Holland pounded his right fist into his mitt and did something he'd missed for lo these many months.

"It felt good to do the handshake thing," he said after recording his first save of 2018, and his first since last Sept. 22 with the Rockies, the final of his 41 last season.

When Holland signed with the Nationals on Aug. 7, six days after being cut loose following a disastrous tenure with the Cardinals, all he wanted was a chance to hit the reset button and, hopefully, wipe away the memories of everything that went wrong in St. Louis.

After his All-Star season with the Rockies last year, the 32-year-old Holland inexplicably sat available on the open market until signing a free agent deal with the Cardinals on March 31. What followed was the furthest thing from Holland's dreams: 32 games of frustration that included three blown saves in as many tries, relegation to low-leverage situations, a 7.92 ERA and 2.24 WHIP.

"I felt strong in St. Louis, but I went through a spot where I wasn't comfortable with my delivery at all and then it just built on itself, I guess," Holland said. "I got here and it was kind of like I got to hit the refresh button. I was comfortable from the time I got here, played with several of the guys in this clubhouse. It's a loose atmosphere with some veteran leadership."

Even though his bullpen was struggling at the time, manager Davey Martinez wanted Holland to feel at ease, and not feel like he was the magic bullet capable of fixing what was wrong.

"He got a late start, one. I personally think he got rushed a little bit, never really had that spring training," Martinez said. "Now, when we got him here, ... we told him, 'Hey, we're going to break you in slowly, not put you in high-leverage situations right away. Work your way back in.' We explained some of the things we saw in St. Louis that might help him get better - use his fastball a little more - and he's been doing good."

In 12 games - working from low-leverage situations to Monday's save opportunity - Holland has posted a 0.93 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. He's fanned 11 to three walks in 9 2/3 innings.

"He's commanding the strike zone," Martinez said. "He's throwing strikes with both his fastball and his breaking ball, which is nice to see. And his fastball usage, he's been using his fastball a little bit more, which allows his breaking ball to be that much better."

Successfully starting over isn't as easy as it sounds, especially for a veteran pitcher who is used to pitching with a win on the line and little margin for error.

"It's just getting back into the swing of things," Holland said. "I've thrown the ball well enough to where I've gotten some opportunities in closer games, in late-game scenarios, in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning, and that's where you want to be as a relief pitcher. You want to be the guy - or one of the guys - who gets the ball in tight situations."

Until Holland proves himself unreliable, Martinez will continue to hand him the ball. He can't guarantee it'll be in a save situation, but a guy with 187 career saves is a nice weapon to have in your back pocket. Especially with closers Sean Doolittle and Kelvin Herrera on the disabled list, Ryan Madson just off the DL and Koda Glover still rounding into form.

"He's a veteran guy that's closed many, many games and was very successful," Martinez said. "It's nice to have down there. Actually, the way he's pitching now, it could be a spot where he's doing that a little bit more for us."

Holland is just happy for the confidence Martinez and the Nationals are showing in him. He's a free agent at year's end, and a strong finish will set him up for a better situation in 2019.

"I honestly felt like I had a renewed sense of, let's take this as a two-month season, so to speak, and get back to the basics of repeating my delivery," he said. "It was easier because of how comfortable I was at the get-go. They welcomed me with open arms. ... It was a pretty easy transition."