Colin Holderman’s name lends itself very well to the role the Pirates like him to play. He slots in as the seventh/eighth inning guy, when the Pirates need somebody to come in and hold the game where it is, getting it to the eighth or ninth for one of Aroldis Chapman or David Bednar.

It’s a system that worked out very well in the first few months of the season. From his season debut on April 11th until mid June, Holderman had tossed 26.2 innings for Pittsburgh, earning 13 holds and pitching to an ERA of 0.68. Opponents were batting .147 and had an OPS well below .500 against him.

He was lights out, and bar none the most reliable Pirates reliever in the bullpen.

That was, until June 22nd. Coming onto the mound in the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, Holderman had given been charged with just a pair of earned runs all season long. That total doubled as the Rays made a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead.

You could look at this game as the beginning of Holderman’s downfall. From June 22nd to the morning of today, Holderman had pitched 13.1 innings and had allowed 9 earned runs, for an ERA of 5.40. His opposing batting average shot up to .346, and he was also charged with a pair of losses in the process.

The last few games have been particularly rough on the 28-year old. Coming on for the tenth inning back in July 28th in Arizona, Holderman gave up 3 runs (the first being the automatic runner), nearly giving away a 6-2 lead the Pirates had made for themselves in the top of the inning.

Then, on the 31st in Houston, Holderman was called upon in the sixth inning to get the final out after Jalen Beeks had recorded the first two. With a runner on first, Holderman proceeded to immediately give up a home run that made it 5-4 Astros, which stood as the final score.

And yesterday, after the Bucs had battled all the way back from a historic 5-0 deficit in the first inning, the Pirates had tied the game 7-7 in the eighth inning, and called on Holderman to game the game to the ninth.

Holderman allowed a leadoff hit, who eventually stole second base. With two outs, he threw a wild pitch that allowed the runner to advance, and then he allowed a double to right field, scoring an earned run and handing the Diamondbacks the lead.

Though the Pirates would eventually fight to get it to 9-8 before losing, this eighth inning from Holderman was extremely costly.

Yes, he was not the only pitcher to underwhelm today. Aroldis Chapman and Dennis Santana had gave up homers, and Luis Ortiz had an extraordinarily uncharacteristic first inning.

Holderman, however, is the one who gets charged with the loss, his second in as many games. His season ERA is now up to 2.46.

For a long time this season, Holderman was as reliable as they come, and there’s still a great chance he gets back to that. But right now he is a completely loose cannon.

The Pirates need to take him out of their most important moments for the time being. With his struggles, his appearances in tightly contested games, especially late, is actively hurting the team.

With other arms that can be given looks in situations like that, Holderman’s name as the eighth inning guy should not be written in Sharpie.

Derek Shelton needs to be open to exploring other options there. Maybe someone like Kyle Nicolas, who the Pirates have been trusting more and more, can slot in there for a brief time.

But for however important it is to establish a new person in his role for the meantime, it’s equally as important to simply get Holderman out of there. His track record suggests that these struggles won’t last forever, but the Pirates can’t afford to have him trying to figure it out in higher leverage situations.

Holderman has pitched well in some other recent games, ones where there was basically no risk involved.

He entered the game on July 14th and pitched scoreless with a five run lead against the Chicago White Sox. He did the exact same ten days later against St. Louis.

There’s trusting your guys, and then there’s trusting your eyes. Shelton needs to trust his eyes now. Holderman is struggling too much when it matters most.

Shelton’s confidence in Holderman despite the bad last few games is admirable, but doing so any longer would just be stupid.

Shift him to the front of the bullpen for right now, and let him bounce back there.

(Featured photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)