PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Matt Boyd fought off butterflies and his high school friend and former college roommate in a two-inning stint during the Tigers' 5-2 loss to the Mets on Sunday at First Data Field.
Boyd struck out two in his initial outing of the Grapefruit League, including a whiff of Michael Conforto to end the first inning. The two grew up in Washington and were roommates at Oregon State.
"I was talking to him before the game, running in the outfield," Boyd said. "He told me to throw him a fastball."
But Boyd crossed up his childhood buddy with a slider.
"I know him a little bit," Boyd said with a smile. "Faced him in college and high school. I've known him for a long time. We [still] work out in the offseason together."
Boyd threw 32 pitches, 23 for strikes. His fastball was consistently in the low-90s. Over his two innings, Boyd allowed two hits, both singles, and did not walk a batter.
"It felt good. I got in a rhythm, got the heartbeat going crazy again like you can only do when you're in the situation of a game," said Boyd, who used all five pitches. "Right now it's just going out there and using everything and getting comfortable with everything and attacking."
Boyd went 6-5 last season with the Tigers and posted a 4.53 ERA. He started 18 games last season and comes into Spring Training with a lot of confidence.
"The stuff that we worked on last year is no longer foreign to me," Boyd said. "I know what I'm doing in terms of mechanics. The foundation is laid for that. I think more than anything else it's more of a comfort level."