WASHINGTON — When Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd jogged to the mound in the eighth inning Wednesday, it was the first time he’d done so in a start since 2021.
It represented a new accomplishment in an already impressive season after returning from 2023 Tommy John surgery in August of last year.
As the Cubs’ offense — which was averaging more runs per game than any other team in the majors and has made comeback rallies a specialty — fell silent, Boyd’s effort was wasted in a 2-0 loss to the Nationals.
“I’m grateful to the Cubs for giving me this opportunity here,” Boyd said. “And we’ve got an awesome ballclub. So it’s really fun to be a part of this club, fun to be part of what we’re doing as a team this year, and just have a lot of gratitude in that sense.”
Boyd held the Nationals to two runs and four hits in 7⅓ innings. But even that line didn’t do his outing justice.
He retired the first 16 batters he faced, good for five perfect innings, plus an extra strikeout.
Boyd didn’t allow a baserunner until the sixth, when he walked Niasim Nunez with one out. But before the next at-bat ended, Boyd made a deft pickoff move to first as Nunez took off, and first baseman Michael Busch fired to second to catch Nunez stealing.
The Nationals’ first hit came shortly after, as Robert Hassell III got hold of a slider. But with two outs, he didn’t present much of a threat at first base. Boyd induced CJ Abrams to ground out to second to get out of the inning.
Finally, on Boyd’s first pitch of the seventh inning, Amed Rosario ended the scoreless tie.
Boyd located that first-pitch fastball well off the plate, a spot that almost never results in a home run. And yet, Rosario sent it the other way, into the Nationals’ bullpen.
At 1.49 feet from the center of the plate, according to Statcast, it was the third-farthest outside pitch a right-handed batter has hit for a homer since the beginning of pitch tracking (2008).
Boyd gave up another run the next inning, on a double by Nunez, and then handed over the ball.
“You’re seeing a pretty good version of him, and I think he’s going to get better,” catcher Carson Kelly said after the game. “It just seems like he digests every start, good or bad, and finds a positive and continues to work through it each week.”
It’s been mostly good. Including his start Wednesday, Boyd has posted a 3.01 ERA, the best mark among active Cubs starting pitchers.
Boyd has been as steady as the team could have hoped when they signed him to a two-year deal worth $29 million guaranteed this offseason — before he’d had a full season back from surgery.
They’d seen enough between the last couple of months of his 2024 season and playoff appearances with the Guardians to expect him to continue on a promising trajectory.
Some questions remained about the kind of workload he’d be able to handle, but that hasn’t been an issue.
On most nights, with the kind of offense the Cubs have produced this season, Boyd’s performance Wednesday would have been more than enough to claim victory.
Instead, the Cubs were shut out for just the third time this season.
