Greg Holland's debut with the Cardinals couldn't have gone much worse

Blame it on missing all of spring training or perhaps it was nerves, but Greg Holland's first appearance with the St. Louis Cardinals was one to forget.

After the Cardinals tied their game Monday with the Brewers with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, Holland was called upon to make his 2018 debut. Holland signed a one-year, $14 million deal with St. Louis on Opening Day after declining a $15 million player option from the Rockies and a $17.4 million qualifying offer.

Holland, the former Royals star, made two appearances in the minors for the Cardinals before joining the team Monday and taking the mound at Busch Stadium in the 10th inning. Holland walked the first two batters he faced, then got an out when the Brewers bunted. After an intentional walk, Holland then threw four straight balls to Orlando Arcia that forced in a run.

The Brewers won 5-4 as Holland threw just six strikes among his 19 pitches.

“I didn’t command the ball,” Holland told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s hard to walk four guys and consider that a success. I felt good. I just put myself in a tough spot. Luckily, Bud (Norris, who then came in) kept it at one. But there’s really no excuse for walking four guys.

“I hope it’s a rarity, but sometimes you just don’t have a good feel for the strike zone. I don’t think there was any outside factors. I felt good in the (bull)pen. I felt good warming up. And when the inning started, I was behind the whole time.”

Francisco Pena, another former Royal, was the catcher for Holland's 10th inning troubles, which included pitches in the dirt.

“He kept me bouncing, and I was ready to go,” Pena told the Post-Dispatch.

“It’s been a while since he’s pitched. It’s not the same as the minor-league level. He wants to do well. With the cold weather, he probably wasn’t throwing the ball as well."

Twitter user Doug Kern noted:

This story was originally published April 10, 2018 at 8:23 AM with the headline "Greg Holland's debut with the Cardinals couldn't have gone much worse."