The Chicago Cubs didn’t just name a Game 1 starter—they picked an advantage. Matthew Boyd will take the ball to open the Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field, and everything about this matchup tilts toward Chicago when the 34-year-old lefty is on the mound. The résumé checks out: an All-Star season with a 3.21 ERA, 14 wins, and 179.2 innings that steadied Craig Counsell’s rotation through injuries and midseason turbulence. More importantly, the context screams “edge Cubs”: San Diego’s lineup has struggled more against left-handers, and Boyd has been better at Wrigley than on the road. That’s not just narrative—it’s why this decision felt inevitable.
The Emotional Fuel Behind Boyd’s Start
Boyd’s first pitch Tuesday isn’t just about stuff and sequencing; it’s layered with the kind of fuel that matters in October. He fought back tears Monday while talking about his late grandfather, a Chicago native and diehard Cubs fan who would have reveled in seeing him start a playoff game at Wrigley. That emotional charge can sound squishy until you remember how postseason baseball works—every ounce of focus and adrenaline matters when a best-of-three can swing on one pitch. Boyd gets that. He calls it “all energy,” something you acknowledge and feed off instead of pretending it isn’t there.
The numbers back the vibe. Boyd’s season-long consistency (1.09 WHIP, 154 strikeouts) lets Counsell map out Game 1 in layers: ride the lefty as far as the game state allows, then hand it to the rested right-handed options behind him. That plan dovetails with the opponent’s splits and the ballpark. If Boyd covers the first two trips through the order, Chicago can steer matchups late without overexposing the bullpen early. “Score early” remains the mantra because San Diego’s back end can shorten any game, but Boyd’s presence reduces the odds that the Cubs are chasing.
Experience, Strategy, and Tone-Setting
He’s coming off a clean, efficient tune-up against the Mets, the kind of start that reinforces rhythm in the week leading to October. And while this will be Boyd’s first Cubs postseason, it’s not his first postseason. He gave up just one earned run across 11.2 playoff innings last year with Cleveland, striking out 14 and looking very much like a pitcher who understands how to sequence under pressure. That matters in a series opener where the first inning can feel like the seventh.
This assignment also solves a bigger problem: tone-setting. The Cubs haven’t won a playoff game since 2017, a fact that carries weight whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Naming Boyd—an All-Star who spent six months as the rotation’s “take-the-ball-every-time” constant—sends a message that Chicago plans to control tempo from pitch one. It’s not about squeezing seven or eight innings; it’s about establishing the at-bat shape, stealing first-pitch strikes, and making San Diego adjust into the wind, not the other way around. The Cubs built their staff to be modular; Boyd gives that plan a calm, left-handed anchor.
And yes, the storylines are irresistible. From a two-year, $29 million “prove it at Wrigley” deal in December to an All-Star summer to this start, Boyd has walked the arc every contender hopes for when they invest in a veteran starter. He arrived, stabilized, and now he gets the ball in the one game you’d choose if you could only choose one. That’s how you manufacture an edge in a three-game series: pick the matchup that suits you, back it with a season’s worth of trust, and let a lefty with poise and strike-throwing habits set the tone. On paper and in feel, Chicago just put itself in front.
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