BALTIMORE -- Gunnar Henderson tried to stop his swing, but it was too late. The curveball that Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd sent spinning across the zone and tumbling low and outside did its job, getting the Orioles' shortstop to offer feebly for a strikeout to end the third inning on Tuesday night.
That was one snapshot of a vintage Boyd outing at Camden Yards.
“He was amazing,” Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya said. “He was dialed in since pitch one. He dominated the zone and the other team had no chance against him.”
Boyd gave the Cubs six scoreless innings in a 5-2 victory over the Orioles in his third start since returning from the injured list. The veteran lefty has been sidelined twice this season -- first in April due to a left biceps strain and then in May when a fluke left knee injury necessitated surgery -- limiting him to only eight outings overall.
The version of Boyd who took the hill in Baltimore looked very much like the one who last season made the All-Star team, logged his most innings (179 2/3) and starts (31) since 2019, and took the ball three times in the postseason. If the 35-year-old can indeed return to that form in the coming months, that would be a huge development for a Chicago rotation that has been riddled with injuries.
In that regard, Tuesday was a big step forward.
“It’s just been a steady progression,” Boyd said. “You can’t replicate game speed up here, so when you get into those situations, different things reveal themselves. You just continue to work on them. That was the case with the last few starts, the last one and today. There’s things to work on that come out of that, too. But it was a good game.”
The six innings were the most in an outing for Boyd since May 3 -- shortly before the meniscectomy surgery on May 7 for his knee. This marked the lefty’s first time logging at least six scoreless frames since Aug. 2 last season, when he gave the North Siders seven scoreless against, as it happens, the Orioles.
A clear sign that Boyd was feeling more like himself was the fact that he reached back and hit 95.9 mph on a first-inning fastball to Adley Rutschman, per Statcast. That was his hardest pitch of this season. He averaged 93.6 mph with his four-seamer -- a 1 mph jump over his season average (92.6 mph).
Cubs manager Craig Counsell pointed to the fact that, at this stage in his latest comeback, Boyd is no longer in rehab mode. After going 4 2/3 innings on June 25 against the Mets and then five innings on June 30 against the Padres (registering 76 pitches in each outing), Boyd built up to 93 pitches (64 strikes) and was firing on all cylinders against the Orioles.
“What Matt needs, is he just needs to get on that consistent routine,” Counsell said. “Not the injured mode, where you’re rehabbing and protecting and you’ve got to limit things. I think we’re back to that place. And I think that’ll get Matt in a good place, in terms of making himself more consistent and execution improving and things like that. I think we’re in a good spot.”
Boyd was undoubtedly in a good place against Baltimore’s lineup.
Beyond the uptick in velocity, Boyd was featuring extra bite on his breaking pitches. The slider, in particular, saw a jump in use from 13% on the season to 22% against the Orioles. In the fourth inning, when Baltimore put the first two hitters aboard, Boyd used his slider to get three straight strikeouts against Samuel Basallo, Blaze Alexander and Dylan Beavers.
Boyd held the Orioles to an 0-for-5 showing with runners in scoring position and 0-for-9 with runners on base overall. Four of his seven strikeouts came with runners on. He also induced an inning-ending double play in the fifth that erased a one-out walk. Boyd also generated six of his 15 whiffs (swinging strikes) via the slider.
“He was really good,” Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman said. “Honestly, less changeup usage today -- probably just team dependent, who he was facing. I thought the fastball was really good. The slider was good, and the curveball, too. The spin to both sides was good to see. He was in a rhythm.”
The Cubs are hoping Boyd can remain there for the next few months.
“He’s so important for our rotation,” Amaya said. “Hopefully, he stays healthy for the rest of the season. That’s going to be huge for us.”