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Holland battles out of jam to earn save

Royals closer gives up single, wild pitch and two walks in 10th

DETROIT -- Royals closer Greg Holland wasn't blaming the weather or the sloppy conditions for putting himself in a jam in the bottom of the 10th of the Royals' pulsating 2-1 win over Detroit on Sunday.

"I just didn't have very good command of the baseball," Holland said.

Holland gave up a single, a wild pitch and two walks, loading the bases with no outs. With the tying run on third and the winning run on second, Holland faced Detroit's Hernan Perez.

"I tried to battle through it and got lucky enough to get the double play," Holland said. "I just didn't have my best stuff but we still got a win."

Holland got Perez to bounce to third where Christian Colon threw to catcher Sal Perez for a force, and Perez fired a laser to first for the double play.

Video: KC@DET: Colon comes home to start double play in 10th

"I tried not to be relieved because the last time I got a double play with the bases loaded, I still blew it," Holland said. "I consciously tried to stay sharp."

Up came the dangerous Victor Martinez. But instead of walking Martinez, Holland told manager Ned Yost he wanted to face him.

"I didn't want to intentionally walk a guy and load the bases, especially with me throwing the ball everywhere," Holland said. "I felt like Salvy is good enough to block anything and I have confidence enough in myself not to throw a mistake pitch."

The count went to 3-2 before Holland walked Martinez. That brought up Yoenis Cespedes, who eventually struck out on a cutter, giving the Royals the win and the series win.

"Any time you can go on the road and win a series against a team in your division, that's big," Holland said. "They beat up on us last year."

Worth noting

• Six of the Royals hitters in the starting lineup used pink bats - Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer, Kendrys Morales, Alex Gordon, Salvador Perez and Jarrod Dyson - to recognize breast cancer awareness.

Jeffrey Flanagan is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @FlannyMLB.
Read More: Kansas City Royals, Greg Holland