The Chicago Cubs got an All-Star outing from their only All-Star pitcher on Saturday when Matthew Boyd delivered an 8-inning, 4-hit shutout performance in a 5-2 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
It was a much-appreciated virtuoso showing after an 11-0 shellacking on Friday that reduced the Cubs’ first place lead in the NL Central Division to just one game over the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers.
To make things even more impressive, the brilliant appearance from the southpaw, who now sports a 2.34 ERA in 19 starts, came against a Yankees team that has absolutely battered left-handed pitching this year.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell would call the effort “masterful” and declare it an “All-Star-type performance.”
Matthew Boyd, sitting out his first All-Star Game
Last week, the 34-year-old Boyd received the news that he was selected to his first All-Star Game. And, although he’ll be there on Tuesday at Truist Park in Atlanta, alongside fellow All-Star teammates Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong, he recently made the decision not to pitch in the game.
The veteran, who has been plagued with arm injuries over the last several years and had Tommy John surgery in 2023, is opting to take the All-Star break as a breather to rest an arm that has thrown its most number of innings since 2019.
In Boyd’s own words
Per Boyd, to reporters:
“Before I had the selection, before I got that honor, we were talking about, with everything in mind, with the innings last year and going into this break and how, you know, there’s an opportunity to kind of prolong the break, depending on when I come back and pitch and using that to our advantage. There’s only so many natural breaks you have in the season, right? So, if there’s a chance to kind of a chance to give you a breather, give you a blow, if you will…
Everything’s going great, but knowing that we’re on pace to throw more innings since 2019, or already have thrown…So, it was just kind of built in that way. I hope there’s another chance to pitch in the All-Star Game, but, you know, the goal this year is to be fresh through all the way October, right? It’s something we just got to keep in mind as we go forward.”
Saving the arm for the pennant race
Boyd has logged 111.2 innings so far this season, more than he logged in his last two seasons, combined.
The Cubs gambled on his arm health this past offseason, signing the talented lefty free agent to a 2-year, $29 million deal that has paid great dividends this season where injuries have otherwise decimated the team’s starting rotation.
Despite the optimism in signing Boyd, though, there was also caution and concern about the man who had pitched a total of 202.2 innings over his four prior injury-filled seasons.
“There’s definitely some risk/reward there,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said in a pre-season radio interview. “If we’re sitting here today and we say, ‘Matt Boyd throws 120 innings of really good baseball,’ I think we’d all be really happy about that. Anything above that would be great.”
Counsell has co-signed Boyd’s conservative, team-first mindset in sitting out the All-Star Game.
“We’ve got to keep the big picture in mind here,” Counsell told reporters after Saturday’s game. “He’s had a heck of a first half. He’s pitched so well, he’s throwing a ton of innings. So we’ll get him fresh for the second half.”
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