FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Pirates finally broke into the win column Saturday, with their pitching carrying them to a 2-0 victory over the Twins, led by starter Derek Holland's 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
And, yes, he is still considered a starter option. Derek Shelton reaffirmed it before the game.
"We have some openings in the rotation, and he's definitely one of the people we're looking at," Shelton said.
Holland said he prepared to be a reliever this season after falling out of the rotation last year with the Giants. The Pirates gave him an opportunity for him to reclaim a rotation job, and while nothing is guaranteed -- not even a roster spot -- so far, he has made a good case for himself. He struck out five in his debut on Feb. 23 and navigated some premier hitters in the Twins lineup Saturday.
But if he is going to make that jump back to the starting five, he is going to need to reclaim his offspeed pitches.
Holland more or less abandoned his offspeed stuff last year as he bounced between teams and roles, dropping his changeup usage to 4.1% and his curveball usage to 4.3%.
For his second outing this spring, the focus was "100 percent" on sharpening those offspeed offerings.
"I got the results I needed to," Holland said of his outing. "Used my offspeed I needed to. Located the way I needed to."
Holland's offspeed stuff got a heck of a test in the third inning, facing former MVP Josh Donaldson. He struck out Donaldson in the first, but he was nearing the end of his night, stretched out for a third inning for the first time this spring and nearing his pitch count. It was one of those plate appearances you remember when a roster needs to be constructed.
The two battled, with Donaldson pulling Holland's changeups foul. Eventually, Donaldson won, hanging back just long enough to hook an inside changeup down the line fair.
"I had a game plan going into that last inning of throwing more offspeed, and he was making the adjustments that were necessary," Holland said of his battle with Donaldson. "He saw that I was going to come in one time, I did it, and that was it."
He followed that by losing another battle with Nelson Cruz, who walked on a full count, ending his night. Still, he did what he set out to do that inning and executed his gameplan.
Holland had been working outside most the night to right-handers. He knows about his hand splits -- righties batted .288 with a .997 OPS against him a year ago -- and how that needs to be rectified if he is going to seriously be in the mix for starter. Offspeed stuff away is the classic counter when you don't have the hand advantage.
"Those are things I want to work on," Holland said. "Trying to work the counts, in and out, with right-handed hitters, and doing the same thing with left-handed hitters."
Holland got away from that last year, but has emphasized it in his first two starts this spring. The goal is still a starter spot, but he knows there's a crowded field of candidates for those jobs. Right now, he's trying to get his stuff where it needs to be.
"I'm definitely fighting for it, but at the same time, I'm going to take what I can get," Holland said. "I think we've done a good job of doing what we [he and pitching coach Oscar Marin] need to do. I'm not putting any stress on myself. I know there's a lot of guys that are competing for these spots, and I've got to do my part."
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