Davis picks up Holland after tough 9th frame

MILWAUKEE -- This was not the ho-hum ninth inning that Royals manager Ned Yost dreamed up when he sent out his two-time All-Star closer Greg Holland with a six-run lead.

Five hitters later, the Brewers were within three and had two runners in scoring position -- and there were still none out.

Fortunately for the Royals, Yost had the all-time security blanket, Wade Davis, who came in and retired the side to preserve an 8-5 win on Monday night at Miller Park.

"I made it exciting," Yost said. "That's my fault. I hadn't thrown him in six games. I had an opportunity to throw him in St. Louis to keep him fresh and I didn't. So yeah, that was rust. His stuff was really, really good. But everything kind of came back to the middle.

"It's just location and rust."

Holland gave up four hard hits, and he walked a batter.

Holland did not use the layoff as an excuse.

"No, I wouldn't say [the layoff] was it," Holland said. "I threw a bullpen earlier today. My stuff, I thought, was the best I've had all year. I just made some bad mistakes when I was ahead in the count."

Holland also wouldn't blame the fact that this wasn't a save situation, thus lacking the normal adrenaline a tight game would create.

"I try to execute my pitches no matter what the situation," Holland said. "I didn't tonight."