CHICAGO -- Royals closer Greg Holland looked around the clubhouse before Thursday's game against the White Sox and sensed how special this playoff chase really is.
"I'm trying to stay grounded," he said. "As a team, we feel like the momentum is building and that we're getting closer. But we're also relaxed.
"When it happens, when we clinch a playoff spot, we'll be pretty damn excited. But we're trying to stay in the moment."
And part of that special playoff-clinching moment could belong to Holland, one of the best closers in the game.
The Royals simply are thankful they have Holland. He gave everyone a scare when his right triceps muscle flared up in early September.
Holland, who has 44 saves and a 1.49 ERA, missed almost 10 days as the team's medical staff prescribed rest and anti-inflammatories for the issue.
"I feel good now," he said. "It's something that, luckily, we had the opportunity to rest it."
During Holland's absence, the Royals did not have a blown save as Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera picked up the slack.
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"We were fortunate to have other guys that can step in, so it didn't really hurt us," Holland said, adding that he wasn't that nervous that the injury could have been worse.
"It wasn't really a pain issue," he said. "It was more a range of motion thing and an issue of inflammation."
"It seems like there's always something you deal with during a season. It could be early or it could be late. It's the nature of the job. Most of my issues have always been lower back or shoulder, so it was a little alarming for it to be (near) the elbow (in the triceps).
"But it feels great right now. It's just one of those things where you never know when or where it is going to happen, but all pitchers go through something during a season."
Holland has no fear the inflammation will return.
"You can't worry about those things," he said. "You just have to be ready and stay healthy and do all your normal routines each day. If something does happen, at least you know you did everything you could do to prevent it.
"And now I have a chance to help us get to the postseason."
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter at @jflanagankc or email him at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
