When Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd takes the mound at Wrigley Field for Game 1 of a National League wild-card series Tuesday against the Padres, he’ll know what to do with the extra nerves and excitement that come with playoff stakes.
‘‘It’s all energy,’’ Boyd said in a recent conversation with the Sun-Times. ‘‘You just acknowledge it for what it is and feed off it.’’
He has pitched in big moments in the postseason before, but this season is unique. For the first time in Boyd’s career, he’s going to be a key member of a playoff rotation after serving as a cornerstone of the Cubs’ success all season.
The Cubs announced Monday that Boyd, who earned his first All-Star nod in July and finished the season with a 3.21 ERA in 31 starts, will kick off their postseason by starting Game 1.
‘‘He’s been our consistent, take-the-ball-every-time starter,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘And you’re happy to hand the ball to a guy like that.’’
The Cubs lined up their rotation in the last week of the regular season to give themselves a number of options. But when rookie right-hander Cade Horton, who had been lights-out since the All-Star break, landed on the injured list with a fractured rib, Boyd looked like the clear choice.
Boyd went through eight major-league seasons before getting his first taste of the playoffs in 2022. His only appearance that postseason came in the 16th inning of Game 3 of the American League Division Series between the Mariners and Astros. He faced three batters — including current teammate Kyle Tucker, whom he walked — and got one out.
‘‘It ended up being a great opportunity because I got to sit back and stay ready but also just take it all in,’’ Boyd said. ‘‘Take in what everything was like, take in the emotions, the feelings that I had watching my teammates go through it. And I think it really served me well going into last year.’’
He made it back to the postseason with the Guardians in 2024. A midseason addition, Boyd returned from Tommy John surgery to help propel them to a strong finish and the AL Central title.
From his return Aug. 13, when he held the Cubs to one run in 5⅓ innings, through the end of last season, he posted a 2.79 ERA. He then made two starts in the AL Division Series and one in the AL Championship Series, allowing a combined one run.
‘‘When I was rehabbing alone and I couldn’t find a job, I knew in my heart I was going to get the chance,’’ Boyd said. ‘‘Just as I knew we’d get the chance this year. And that doesn’t make sense to a lot of people, and it doesn’t need to.’’
He has held the belief that the Cubs were playoff-bound since signing with them last offseason. And the Cubs believed, after seeing his comeback with the Guardians, that he could help them end their postseason drought.
‘‘The cool part, as a contrast to last year, is you get to go through the battles,’’ he said. ‘‘From spring training to our trip in Tokyo to the amazing April to the tough parts where we’re not winning like we did before.’’
He listed highs and lows, from watching left-hander Justin Steele lose his season to elbow surgery to seeing Horton put together a Rookie of the Year-caliber season to bearing witness to Pete Crow-Armstrong’s ‘‘amazing year.’’ Boyd’s list of his teammates’ season accomplishments went on.
‘‘I think it’s special when you get to be with someone every day, to be with the same group . . . and you get to see the collectiveness of it,’’ Boyd said. ‘‘It makes the highs even more special.’’
Stepping onto the field for the Cubs’ first playoff game since 2020 — and first one with fans in the stands since 2018 — is sure to be one of those highs.
He’ll have loved ones in attendance, including his wife and kids, his parents, his sister and her family. And on his mind will be his late grandfather John Boyd, who grew up in Chicago and was a diehard Cubs fan.
‘‘A huge reason for me being here is really him,’’ Boyd said. ‘‘It’s really cool to think about how special this would be for him.’’
