PITTSBURGH – If these are the dog days of the season, consider the Cubs a bunch of energetic Jack Russell terriers.
The vibes were detectably high after Friday night’s win over the Pirates, an extra-inning nailbiter with a division foe fighting for one of the playoff spots the Cubs currently own. It was the type of performance necessary to win in October.
And though it’s still July, that’s what the Cubs – who fell to the division-rival Brewers in the NLDS last year – are itching to do: win in October.
“That taste that we had in our mouth after losing Game 5 in the DS? To get to that point and go further, the opportunity lies in front of us,” Boyd said Saturday. “We’re excited about that.
“The Brewers played better than us over the course of five games, yet we know where our talent stands. We know where we can go and what we can do.
“It didn’t end how we wanted it to. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great year. … However, it does light a hunger in you, and that’s what’s exciting, to get the opportunity to go, ‘OK, if we really want to do what we want to do and grow off that experience, it’s right in front of us.’”
The teams the Cubs are up against on their current road trip, the Pirates and Cardinals, are chasing their own postseason goals. Then comes a home stand featuring high-profile series with the Yankees and Dodgers.
Facing off against Pirates ace Paul Skenes on Saturday, the Cubs saw the kind of pitcher they’ll be up against in the playoffs.
These might be the dog days for some, particularly after the trade deadline passes, but the Cubs see the road to the World Series right in front of them. They’re ready to hit the gas.
“You hear ‘dog days.’ You can look at it a few different ways,” Boyd said. “The excitement of what stands beyond, in terms of where we want to go as a team, it’s right there, it’s palpable. You can taste it.
“The Pirates are a very good team. … The Cardinals are right there, too. We’re playing the Dodgers. We’re playing the Yankees. We have good opponents when the games matter, and it’s awesome to play those games, because they’re the teams you want to be playing against – that you will be playing against – when you get to where you want to go.”
If the Cubs are going to get past a Brewers-shaped roadblock, Boyd will be a big part of the equation.
An All Star last season, he was disappointed to miss as much time as he did in the first half this season, on the IL twice, including for the better part of two months while recovering from knee surgery.
But since returning, he’s been fantastic, with a 2.31 ERA in six starts, including the seven innings of one-run ball he logged Friday.
Jed Hoyer’s front office will be searching for pitching before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, but the Cubs might have an in-house ace in Boyd, who’s helping stabilize an injury-ravaged staff.
“We’ve lost so much talent, from that perspective,” manager Craig Counsell said Friday, “but Matt, you feel like he’s gotten us some back, coming back and pitching games like this.”
Leaning on Boyd last year against the Brewers backfired, with the lefty making his second start of the postseason on short rest in Game 1 of the NLDS, giving up six runs and only recording two outs.
The Cubs know, as Boyd said last month, that “the Central runs through” the Brewers. They also know what they’re capable of and haven’t shied away from championship-level expectations.
“We know how good we are. We know what we do well. We do things well that a lot of other teams don’t,” Boyd said. “That’s not comparing ourselves to other teams, we just know how good we are at what we do.
“What makes us a team is being true to our identity, not trying to go be some other team. There’s a lot of confidence in that, and the confidence only grows with the days that come.”