As Cubs search for pitching continues, so does Matthew Boyd's brilliant season

New York Times

23-07-2025

CHICAGO — Prior to the Cubs' 6-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals, much of the discussion between manager Craig Counsell and the local media centered around the team's need for starting pitching, which almost certainly will be addressed in the next week.
But until then, the Cubs are going to get by with what they have. That they have Matthew Boyd is a big reason this team is in this position right now. The veteran lefty continued his brilliant season on Tuesday, tossing seven shutout frames and thoroughly overwhelming the Royals offense. Boyd's brilliance on the evening extended his scoreless stretch to 23 innings and gave him 10 straight starts where he's tossed at least five innings while giving up two or fewer runs.
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'Somehow he's just gotten better in this stretch,' Counsell said. 'He's just overwhelming hitters. It's just a great pitch mix and deception. You watch the Bobby Witt at-bats, who's one of the best hitters in the game. What (Boyd) did there tonight is a great example of how good the stuff is. It's been fun to watch him pitch.'
Witt, who entered the night fourth in baseball in WAR, went 0-for-3 against Boyd with two strikeouts.
The play of the game occurred in the fifth. The Cubs were clinging to a two-run lead when the Royals loaded the bases with one out against Boyd with a trio of singles, which included a bloop hit and a bunt. It was the only real threat of the night for the Royals and one that was snuffed out by a defense that has repeatedly proven to be among the best in baseball.
Kyle Isbel softly lined a ball to Dansby Swanson, who was playing just to the left of second base. The dynamic shortstop then immediately ran and dove at Freddy Fermin, who was attempting to slide back into second, and tagged him out for a critical double play that ended the inning.
dansby the mansby. pic.twitter.com/LN8hUAPvsb
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 23, 2025
'That play was huge at that point in the game,' Boyd said. 'It could've been a tipping point. He continues to make great plays when the game's on the line.'
'That was all instinct, all backyard baseball,' Swanson said.
The play kept Boyd's scoreless streak intact and helped him lower his ERA to 2.20 on the season. The lefty is now second in that category in the National League behind only Paul Skenes (1.91). Boyd's 118 2/3 innings are his most since 2019. The Cubs will continue to monitor his workload and were careful with him coming out of the All-Star break, taking advantage of the time off by giving him nine days in between starts.
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'It's as simple as there's not a lot of natural breaks in the season,' Boyd said of the long rest between starts. 'We were just taking advantage of it while it was there.'
That Boyd hasn't pitched much over the last half-decade meant the Cubs were taking a risk by adding him in the offseason. They saw how he looked in 51 1/3 innings last year that included a 0.77 postseason ERA. But for a pitcher who battled injuries in the recent past, they didn't know how durable he could be.
However, Boyd has remained consistent in his belief that his best performance was yet to come. He appears to be in the midst of that. Boyd has gone from intriguing offseason addition with upside to team ace. His performance thus far has him in the Cy Young conversation and an essential part of one of the best teams in baseball.
That the Cubs were so confident in their assessment of Boyd and have been proven right bodes well for their ability to do the same this month when trying to acquire the right pieces. Because they will surely need upgrades to the rotation. Jameson Taillon went down with a hamstring injury at the start of the month, and the Cubs have had to cover three starts over that time. They lost every single one of those games. Counsell has started Chris Flexen along with relievers Drew Pomeranz and Ryan Brasier in those three games, using Flexen and Ben Brown as the bulk guys when using an opener.
'These are the options; our options aren't changing,' Counsell said. 'This is what we're going to go with. We're going to have to pitch better on those days. Flat out.'
But those options could change with a trade, right?
'We play with what we got,' Counsell said. 'That's how it works.'
What the Cubs have 'got' come July 31 will almost certainly look different. They should also have reinforcements beyond the trade deadline in the coming weeks. Taillon will throw a live BP on Friday, then another next week when the team is in Milwaukee before heading out on assignment. Javier Assad is pitching Thursday in Arizona, then will start for an affiliate after that.
For now, the Cubs will make do with what they have. And when Boyd toes the rubber, that is plenty.