56 Greg Holland RP

Holland, who's retired only three of the past 14 batters he's faced, has been reviewing film of recent appearances and comparing them to those of past seasons in an effort to identify his deficiencies, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Holland's Cardinals tenure has been tumultuous overall, but even more so recently. The veteran right-hander has allowed a combined six earned runs over the last three appearances, leaving manager Mike Matheny in a bind as to what situations to deploy him in. However, Holland feels he's spotted the problems that have been plaguing him through is film study and is preparing to make the necessary corrections in his side work.

Holland allowed two earned runs on three hits and a walk without recording an out in a loss to the Royals on Tuesday.

Brought on with the Cardinals already trailing 3-1 to start the ninth, Holland exacerbated the situation. He allowed back-to-back singles to Abraham Almonte and Alcides Escobar to open the outing before issuing a walk to Hunter Dozier and surrendering a two-run single to Jon Jay. The 32-year-old's third straight two-run appearance pushed his ERA to a bloated 8.76, third-highest among relievers with at least 15 appearances. Despite the rough stretch, manager Mike Matheny, who'd viewed Tuesday's scenario as a low-leverage situation that could potentially build Holland's confidence, pledged to continue deploying the struggling veteran selectively, Sean Collins of MLB.com reports. "There will continue to be situations where we're down, and hopefully we can get him into a good place in his own mind confidence-wise, but it's a shame right now we can't get him there," Matheny said.

Holland (0-2) took another loss Saturday against the Phillies, surrendering two runs on two hits and one walk while recording just two outs.

Saturday was the latest frustrating outing for Holland, who has gotten off to a rocky start this season. His ERA sits at 7.30 with a 2.27 WHIP. What's concerning is that many were looking for Holland to brush off his shaky two-run outing against the Twins earlier in the week. "I felt like I've spun the ball well here recently. It's just putting together 15 good pitches in a row that has kind of eluded me," Holland said after the game. His standing as a high-leverage option hasn't changed yet, but Holland is struggling to gain ground on Bud Norris for the closer's role.

Holland allowed two earned runs on two hits and two walks over a third of an inning in a win over the Twins on Wednesday.

Holland opened the eighth with the benefit of a comfortable four-run lead, but he got into trouble immediately. The veteran reliever issued a free pass to Eddie Rosario to open the frame and then surrendered a single to Mitch Garver two batters later. Logan Morrison then drove Rosario home with another hit, and Holland followed by walking the pinch-hitting Robbie Grossman. That earned him the hook after 16 pitches and brought closer Bud Norris on for what turned out to be a five-out save. Holland had appeared to be hitting his stride prior to Wednesday's hiccup, as he'd generated four straight scoreless appearances. His occasional struggles and Norris' own success are presently validating manager Mike Matheny's decision to stick with the latter as his primary ninth-inning option for the time being.

Holland recorded his first hold in a win over the Padres on Thursday, allowing one walk in a scoreless eighth inning.

Holland continues to serve in a setup capacity for the time being, a role during which he's now generated three straight one-inning scoreless efforts to open May. The solid stretch is a welcome sight after Holland lost the temporary hold he had on the ninth-inning job with a pair of rocky outings to close out April. Notably, Bud Norris notched his eighth save of the season following Holland on Thursday, and he figures to remain the primary closer as long as he continues thriving in the role.