They call Derek Holland the Dutch Oven.

After watching him pitch yesterday, perhaps a more appropriate kitchen gadget-based nickname would be the Blender.

Holland made his first appearance of the mound yesterday afternoon since tossing a single inning in a start here on opening day in April 10.

Pitching on four month’s rest, he was pretty masterful.

Going by the radar gun reading flashed on the screen after every pitch, it appears Holland kept it simple. He threw three speeds.

One, a fastball that was mostly around 92 MPH.

Two, a change up that sat at 82.

Three, a breaking ball at 76 MPH.

And all he did was mix it up all day to keep the Mariner’s hitters off balance.

Crush. Chop. Puree.

Chop. Puree. Crush.

Puree. Crush Chop.

He was a three-speed blender out there.

The only real trouble he got into was in the sixth when three singles loaded the bases. But, then, he put it on puree, got Franklin Gutierrez to chop into a double play that scored a run, and that rally was over.

Crush. Chop. Puree.

The Mariners hitters were turned to mush.

The Rangers rotation just got a whole lot  better for the stretch run.