ARLINGTON, Texas -- After nearly two lost seasons because of injury, Derek Holland showed the Texas Rangers his vintage form Sunday.

The left-hander allowed just three hits, matched a career high with 11 strikeouts and shut out the Baltimore Orioles 6-0 as the Rangers completed a three-game sweep.

The Holland gem moved the Rangers within three games of the Houston Astros in the American League West and kept them 1 1/2 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins for the No. 2 AL wild-card spot. Baltimore lost for the 10th time in 11 games and fell 5 1/2 games behind Texas in the wild-card race.

Holland (2-1) threw his first complete-game shutout since Sept, 23, 2013, the eighth of his career, and he was in total command. He didn't walk a batter, and struck out every Baltimore hitter at least once, with his whiff of first baseman Chris Davis to end the game.

"The execution was big," said Holland, who tied with Jim Bibby for the fifth-most shutouts in franchise history. "The defense was making some outstanding plays for me, and the offense put up some runs for me. I felt like I've done the same thing in every start, attacking the zone and throwing strikes. If I'm attacking hitters and throwing strikes, our defense will make plays."

Sunday was Holland's third start since coming off the disabled list after missing after missing more than four months because of a strained left shoulder.

The Orioles managed to get just two runners in scoring position against him Sunday, with center fielder Adam Jones doubling with two outs in the first and second baseman Jonathan Schoop going to second on a fielder's choice in the fifth. That was it for the Baltimore offense.

"To do what he's doing right now is really exceptional," Texas manager Jeff Banister said. "It's a tribute to him and how really focused he is. I think more than anything else, he had a great rhythm, great pace today. He threw early strikes. We were able to get him some early runs so he was able to settle in."

Texas gave Holland all the support he needed in the first inning by scoring twice off Miguel Gonzalez (9-11). Third baseman Adrian Beltre drove in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to right, and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo scored on a wild pitch.

Texas tackled on another run in the third inning on an infield single by shortstop Elvis Andrus, who also had two hits and stole two bases. Second baseman Hanser Alberto added a run-scoring single in the sixth, and center fielder Delino DeShields did the same in the eighth, with another run coming home on an error.

Gonzalez allowed four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The Orioles knew they were in for a long afternoon because Holland was getting ahead of hitters on a day when he threw 79 of his 116 pitches for strikes.

"He was throwing a lot of strikes with all three pitches," Jones said. "When you start off 0-1, it works out for the pitcher and helps out the defense. He was working quick and threw his game. We hit some balls hard right at guys. That's how the game turns out sometimes."

The Orioles' offense didn't do much in the series, producing just four runs in the three games and just 15 hits. Twice in the series they had three-hit games.

Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said Holland had plenty to do with the Sunday woes.

"Something was amiss," he said. "He was part of it, but we knew what he was going to do and the approach he was going to take, what he was going to do in certain counts, but he did it anyway. Tribute to the stuff he brings, but also a little indicator of where we are."

NOTES: Texas 2B Rougned Odor was out of the starting lineup for a fifth straight game because of a sore fingernail on his right middle finger. Manager Jeff Banister believes Odor could be an option to start Monday in San Diego. ... C Carlos Corporan, who has been out since July 13 with a left thumb sprain, will travel with the Rangers to San Diego and likely will be activated from the disabled list when rosters expand Tuesday. ... Texas C Robinson Chirinos will take batting practice with Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, and he could start a rehab assignment Tuesday. He has missed the entire month with a left shoulder strain. ... Baltimore rookie RHP Mychal Givens had his streak of 10 straight outings with at least one strikeout snapped Saturday. Givens tied RHP Steve Johnson (2013) for third-longest streak of games with a strikeout to begin a career with the Orioles. ... Baltimore C Steve Clevenger hasn't had much of a chance to continue his hot streak. He didn't start any of the games in the Texas series despite a five-game hitting streak that has included a .389 average with two doubles and two RBIs.