ARLINGTON, Texas -- If only we could get a microphone on manager Ron Washington when he trots to the mound to have a chat with starter Derek Holland.

The skipper had another "discussion" on Sunday night, after Holland walked Mike Trout with two outs and no one on soon after his team had made up a four-run deficit to give him the lead. Washington did most of the talking. But Holland said it was a little different than some of the past talks the manager has had with him.

"It was one of those random, funny things," Holland said. "It threw me off. He said I always get two outs real quick and not the third. He said, 'It must be something in your back pocket.' He reached toward it and I didn't know what he was doing."

The humorous twist caught Holland off-guard, which the pitcher admitted after the game helped him forget about the walk and focus on the next hitter.

"It was like a Geo moment," said Holland, referring to catcher Geovany Soto, who is known to do just about anything to calm pitchers down, including funny lines or even singing.

Washington still made his point. Holland knows that too often he helps allow teams back into innings instead of finishing the deal. But Washington and Holland were pleased with how the pitcher bounced back after giving up four runs in the first. Holland ended up allowing seven runs, with the four in the first and three more with two outs in the seventh on what Holland said was a mistake pitch to Howie Kendrick, who blasted a three-run homer.

"They got me that inning," Holland said about the first. "You can’t quit just because they did that. These guys are grinding it out for you and you’ve got to continue to grind it out for them. I knew that they got the best of me, but there's eight more innings. I continued to fight. I got to tip my hat to Kendrick -- I missed my spot and he took advantage of it."