Kansas City Royals’ Greg Holland on how his age, fatherhood impact his mentality

In the ninth inning of a one-run game against a home run heavy New York Yankees lineup — in their ballpark, where the ball flies and there’s a short porch in right field — Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny handed the ball to veteran right-handed reliever Greg Holland.

Not only did Matheny hand the ball to Holland, but he doubled down on Holland after a bloop single and a wild pitch put the tying run in scoring position.

Matheny intentionally walked Gary Sanchez and put the potential winning run on base, albeit in the form of a below average runner with force outs in play at multiple bases.

“I just have a great deal of confidence in him,” Matheny said of Holland. “It’s one of those situations where the stats don’t always tell the whole story. This guy comes into big situations and makes really good pitches. He’s unflappable. His stuff is right for that situation.”

Holland delivered with his fifth save of the season. He rewarded Matheny’s faith in him and secured the victory for the Royals. Now, if Holland could just get Matheny’s confidence to rub off one of his harshest critics — the one in his own home.

Over the weekend, Holland shared with reporters an anecdote depicting that his home is where he’s really had to face the music after unsuccessful outings.

Last month against the Detroit Tigers, Matheny gave Holland the ball with a two-run lead and the bases loaded with former triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera due up next.

Holland, who didn’t put the runners on, gave up a grand slam that ultimately provided the Tigers’ margin of victory.

When one of Holland’s sons gave him some grief over giving up a grand slam, Holland tried to joke it off by saying, “At least Miggy will have something at the end of his career and appreciate that he took me deep.”

Holland, 35, has 217 career saves. His career has included an All-Star selection, the 2014 American League Reliever of the Year award, four seasons of 30 saves or more, including three of 40 or more, and 649 career strikeouts.

That track record didn’t sway Holland’s in-home interrogator, who’d recently seen some highlights of Holland from the height of his career as a closer. In fact it worked against Holland.

“He said something to the effect of you need to start being that good again,” Holland said playfully. “I was like, ‘I’m still pretty good. You know, there’s not a lot of us in the world that do this.’ He says, ‘Well, you gave up a home run the other night, and then you gave up a grand slam too.’

“It’s just like, you kind of laugh it off because the way he analyzes is how a 6-year-old does. Take it with a grain of salt and move on, I guess.”

This season, Holland compiled a 3.86 ERA with a 1.43 WHIP, 30 strikeouts and 16 walks in 30 appearances. In 17 of his appearances, he hasn’t allowed an earned run.

However, in four outings he has allowed multiple runs.

Ironically, it’s time at home that helps Holland move past the rough outings such as last week when he allowed three runs, a walk and two hits, including a home run, in 1/3 of an inning during a one-run loss to the Detroit Tigers.

“When you go home, you’ve got to be a father,” Holland said. “Having the off day and stuff with them and the time before I get to the field helps me to compartmentalize it and helps me keep the game in the clubhouse quite a bit.

“It’s something that still irks you when you go to bed and when you’re driving to the park. It’s just part of the game. It’s the nature of it.”

Aside from fatherhood, how has the process of moving on and forgetting about a bad outing changed for Holland compared to earlier in his career?

“I didn’t have nearly as many of them, when I was younger, to deal with,” Holland said with a smile and a chuckle. “But I think it’s something for me where my struggles now are more physical. I know what I’m supposed to do. You know, I didn’t have a great feel for my slider the other night and I threw it a few times when I probably didn’t need to. It’s just one of those things where it’s like you’re getting too old to make these mistakes.

“At least I’m to a point where I know what the problem was so I can correct it. I think as a younger player, sometimes you just end up beating your head against the wall. You want to do good, and you’re just not certain how — how to change that narrative and turn it around. Sometimes it’s as simple as getting a diving play in a jam and then you’re like, ‘OK, now I’m rolling again.’”

The process of understanding all the information a reliever needs to make adjustments and jump right back into pressure situations has gotten a lot quicker for Holland than it was in the past, even if his 6-year-old doesn’t quite recognize that.