As good as Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd has been in getting outs by throwing pitches, he has been just as good getting outs by throwing balls to first base.
Boyd, who improved to 6-3 and lowered his ERA to 2.79 with a great performance Saturday, caught Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham off first base for his major-league-leading sixth pickoff, erasing a walk that stood as the only baserunner he allowed after a home run in the first inning.
It’s already a career high for Boyd, eclipsing the five runners he picked off first while pitching for the Tigers in 2019.
“It’s always been something I’ve put a focus on,” Boyd said Saturday. “I was taught my move by a guy named Mark Yoshino, head coach at Bellevue Community College out in Bellevue, Washington, where I live, when I was, like, 9 years old. Each spring, I go back, and I work with him on it.
“It’s been something I’ve always had in my career ever since I was little.”
It was a nice bounce-back for Boyd, who picked a runner off in his previous start against the Phillies but also committed a throwing error on a separate pickoff try, leading to a run.
“You want to err on the side of being aggressive; you don’t want to err on the side of being tentative,” he said. “I’ve got my move, and it’s a little unorthodox, and if I’m going to miss with it, sometimes that happens. But it doesn’t mean I’m not going to do it again.”
Boyd’s pickoff ability and emphasis on it falls right in line with this Cubs team, which has shown off so many different ways to win, doing little things to make the difference.
Just like Cubs hitters can produce runs with their baserunning and Cubs fielders can prevent them with their defense, Boyd can prevent runs with his pickoffs, not just getting outs but keeping guys at first base to prevent bigger scoring chances.
“If I didn’t pick anybody else off the rest of the year but I kept them a step closer to the base and they didn’t steal a base, it would be a win,” he said. “That’s kind of the point of it. It’s not the move in and of itself; it’s the things you can [do to] have an impact on a game.
“If you get an out, that’s a bonus. That’s a cherry on top.”
Pomeranz on pause
Lefty reliever Drew Pomeranz was dealing with lower-back tightness in the wake of his appearance Saturday, and he was unavailable Sunday.
Pomeranz pitched a scoreless eighth inning but was visited by manager Craig Counsell and a trainer. Afterward, Counsell said Pomeranz “was a little stiff coming out of the game.”
He has yet to give up an earned run, with only one unearned run allowed in his 18„ innings.
Shota’s next start
Starting pitcher Shota Imanaga, working his way back from a strained hamstring, is set to make his next rehab start Friday for Triple-A Iowa.
Imanaga has made two rehab starts in rookie-ball games in Arizona, including his most recent on Saturday, when he threw 44 pitches in four scoreless innings and tossed 11 more pitches in the bullpen.
He has been on the injured list since early May.