Holland puts in overtime pitching both ends of twinbill

PHILADELPHIA - Greg Holland had done it before, pitched both ends of a doubleheader. But as he pointed out, "I was younger when I did it."

Yes, it had been five years since Holland last pitched twice on the same day. He actually did it twice for the Royals in 2013, recording two saves a piece on April 21 against the Red Sox and Aug. 16 against the Tigers.

Holland was 27 at the time. He's 32 now, trying to turn around what, for him, has been an admittedly disastrous season. And he's managing to do just that, thanks to an opportunity the Nationals gave him after the Cardinals unceremoniously dumped him in July.

The owner of a 7.92 ERA and zero saves in 32 appearances for the Cards (who signed him after opening day for $14 million), Holland now owns an 0.56 ERA in 18 appearances for Washington.

And appearances No. 17 and 18 both came during Tuesday's doubleheader sweep of the Phillies.

Holland pitched the eighth inning in the opener, threw 25 pitches, struck out three and protected a 3-0 lead. Then, with Sean Doolittle and Koda Glover both unavailable to appear in both games after recent stints on the disabled list, Holland was summoned to pitch the bottom of the 10th in a save situation.

He got two quick outs, then made everyone sweat after issuing back-to-back walks, only to rebound and get César Hernández to fly out to right and secure the Nationals' 7-6 victory.

"It's one of those things that, luckily in that situation, I didn't have to (warm up in the bullpen) two or three times before going out," Holland said. "The getting hot, getting cold makes it harder and harder to get loose the next time out."

Holland wound up throwing 46 total pitches on Tuesday, earning his teammates' respect.

"Extremely impressive," said Tanner Roark, who made the start. "Him going out there and just being the type of person that he is and getting to know him a little bit, you understand his makeup and why he was so dominant with K.C. And he's proving it back here in D.C. He's leaving it all out on the line, and he's giving it everything he's got. And it's paying off."

Holland was signed to a league-minimum deal when the Nationals were desperate for bullpen help. He initially was just going to fill out low-leverage situations, but he has worked his way into big spots, earning manager Davey Martinez's trust.

Even when he got into trouble in the 10th, Holland didn't have to worry about getting yanked. He already was the ninth Nationals pitcher in this game, the 12th to pitch in the doubleheader. Only Austin Voth was still available, and he was being saved for the 11th inning and beyond.

"We were going to ride it out," Martinez said.

They've been riding Holland out for a month now. And if he continues to pitch like this, they'll keep doing it.