(Updated May 28, 2018)
Greg Holland began his Cardinals career doing as poorly for them as he did against them.
Holland, a relief pitcher who became a free agent and signed a one-year contract for $14 million with St. Louis on March 31, 2018, had an 0-2 record and 9.45 ERA in his first 18 appearances for the Cardinals before going on the disabled list.
Holland also experienced some of his roughest outings when he pitched against the Cardinals.
In 10 career appearances versus St. Louis, Holland, a right-hander, has a 4.82 ERA. Though he earned three saves against the Cardinals and struck out 17 in 9.1 innings, he also yielded three home runs.
Big hit
With the Royals in 2011, Holland was 5-1 with a 1.80 ERA. The lone loss came against the Cardinals.
On June 18, 2011, at St. Louis, the Royals led, 4-3, when Colby Rasmus led off the bottom half of the eighth inning for the Cardinals with a single against Tim Collins. Royals manager Ned Yost brought in Holland to face the Cardinals’ power hitters, Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. Holland had yielded one earned run in 14.1 innings over his previous 10 appearances.
Pujols grounded out, moving Rasmus to second. After getting a strike on Holliday, Holland tried to jam him with a 96 mph fastball. “I knew it was a bad pitch before he hit it,” Holland said to the Kansas City Star. “Then, when he hit it, I knew it was a really bad pitch.”
Holliday hit the ball 422 feet over the center field wall for a two-run home run, giving the Cardinals a 5-4 lead. Video
“Everybody in their bullpen throws 95 or 96 (mph), so you better be ready for the fastball,” Holliday said.
Said Holland: “I tried to get the ball in and it leaked back over the plate. It was up. Boom! Bad combination.”
The Cardinals won, breaking a seven-game losing streak. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa called Holliday’s home run “as big a hit as we’ve had all year.”
Yost said of Holland, “He’s been lights out and he was lights out tonight with the exception of one pitch. He didn’t execute a pitch to Holliday. I mean, he threw it right down the middle.” Boxscore
Command issues
A year later, on June 16, 2012, Holliday again got to Holland.
With the Royals ahead, 7-6, in the seventh inning at St. Louis, Holland yielded a RBI-single to Holliday and a two-run single to Yadier Molina. The Cardinals won, 10-7. Boxscore
Holland had given up one run in 15.2 innings since returning from the disabled list before his smackdown in St. Louis. “Holly struggled with his command and it just wasn’t good for us,” Yost said.
A week later, on June 23, 2012, at Kansas City, Holland permitted a double by Holliday and a two-run home run by Allen Craig during an 8-4 Cardinals victory. Boxscore
Holliday has three hits in four career at-bats versus Holland. Yost said of Holliday, “We try to get him on breaking balls and he hits the curveball. We try to stay hard on him with fastballs and he hits the fastball. We’ve got to make a pitch in a good location and hope he hits it hard at somebody.”
On May 28, 2017, at Denver, Paul DeJong, in his first major-league at-bat, hit a home run for the Cardinals against Holland, who was in his lone season with the Rockies. Video
It was the first home run Holland allowed that season. Said DeJong of the ball he hit, “I kept watching where it would go, and it kept going.” Boxscore
Matt should have won MVP in 2007.
Agree. Matt Holliday, then of Rockies, placed 2nd to Jimmy Rollins in NL MVP Award voting in 2007. Holliday stats: .340 batting average, .405 on-base percentage, 216 hits, 36 home runs, 137 RBI. Rollins stats: .296 batting average, .344 on-base percentage, 212 hits, 30 home runs, 94 RBI.