SAN FRANCISCO _ After a week of public apologies, Derek Holland finally got to let his arm do the talking.
Holland capped off a tumultuous week in which he stirred up a racial controversy by returning to the mound Sunday and putting together one of his best performances of the season in a 3-1 Giants win over the Texas Rangers at AT&T Park.
The veteran left-hander out-dueled Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo, who's tied for the most wins in the majors (7) since June 23, giving up just one earned run off three hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings pitched.
The stingy outing came just four days after Holland set the baseball world ablaze by performing an Asian caricature alongside Giants massage therapist Haro Ogawa on MLB Network's "Intentional Talk." During the interview, Holland made a string of racially insensitive jokes at the expense of Ogawa, who appeared to be playing along with the skit. Holland later apologized, acknowledging that his attempt at humor "crossed the line" and was personally "embarrassing."
He didn't give the Rangers anything to laugh about during his start Sunday either.
Holland's lone blemish came in the third when he walked Rougned Odor with two outs and allowed him to score by coughing up a double to Elvis Andrus. The veteran left-hander got himself into trouble in the seventh, coughing up back-to-back singles to Joey Gallo and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, but reliever Tony Watson got him out of the jam by striking out Robinson Chirinos and thwarting Odor's attempt at a bunt single.
The Giants allowed Holland to pitch with a lead by scoring in the opening frame for the third game of the weekend set. Evan Longoria got the Giants on the scoreboard by smacking a triple into triples' alley with two outs and scoring on Brandon Belt's RBI single.
Steven Duggar did the rest of the damage in the fourth, bringing in Hunter Pence and Nick Hundley by keeping a two-out rally alive with a triple into the right-center gap. Duggar, who's likely to receive an extended audition in the Giants outfield as the team plays out a string over the last 30 games, is heating up at a good time, collecting five hits in his last 12 at bats.
Like Holland, the bullpen also put a miserable week behind them Sunday.
The Giants relievers spoiled a stellar start from Dereck Rodriguez on Friday, surrendering a game-tying home run with two outs in the ninth inning. On Saturday, they allowed the Rangers to put the tying run on second in the ninth after inheriting a 5-0 lead in the eighth, inspiring manager Bruce Bochy to proclaim that "torture is back" on a day when the franchise celebrated the 2010 World Series champions who helped coin the term.
But this time around, Watson, Reyes Moronta and Mark Melancon pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball.
