Matthew Boyd’s strong beginning is for puppies to claim the fifth victory

Chicago-Quenando The Chicago Cubs Craig Counsell manager looked at Matthew Boyd Pump regularly fast balls in the mid-90s during an exhibition match in Japan, he was not surprised.

“That’s a bit what we expected. We are paying $ 15 million,” he joked.

Yes, Boyd is paid well, but for a pitcher with its ability, it is actually quite low. This, as Counsell pointed out, is because of its injury story. Entering in 2025, the left -handed had launched only 202 2/3 inning in the previous four combined seasons. But when he is healthy, who was finally last year, he was strong.

“We think Matt is through some accidents and can be a stabilizing force,” said Counsell. “A boy who takes the ball a lot for us and he throws effectively. When he was launched, he was really effective. We hope he is ready for a season to be healthy and that degree of effectiveness.”

Saturday, after six inning of Shatout against the San Diego Padas in a 7-1 victory, Boyd now did two departures and launched 11 frames without a score. He hit 10 and walked four and was generally what Counsell hoped: a stabilizing force. Saturday’s victory marked the fifth consecutive victory of Chicago, pushing the CUBS to 7-4 in the season.

“Matt was fantastic,” said Counsell. “It is wonderfully launched. A little controlled aggressiveness by the flyers and they always feel a little unbalanced with the different speeds of the shots. It is very to defend for a batter and is doing a good job with it.”

In a rotation where arms like Justin Steele, Ben Brown and Shota Immanaga can thrive mainly by relying on only two shots, Boyd reaches the affected with a mix of five shots that makes them guess. At the beginning of Saturday, Boyd largely used a four shepherds who touched 95 mph, a change that collected five of his eight steps and his cursor. That combination has made miracles against a strong formation of Padres.

“He kept them out of balance,” said Catcher Carson Kelly. “Many different shots in many different counts. It can launch practically anything in any count. This is what really separates it. Really impressive exit.”

Boyd was supported by an offense that was one of the most powerful baseballs at the beginning of the season. With 70 races in 11 games, the bats quickly shake off a slow start in Japan and are also showing that they are one of the most patient groups in baseball. Before the Saturday evening list, the CUBS led the whole baseball with a walking rate of 12.7 percent.

Those types of grinding are worn on the jugs and force them to put traffic on the bases or challenge the beats.

“It’s difficult when you have a range of patients,” Boyd said to face teams like puppies. “Sometimes, it makes you contrast. There is also a good dose of pop in the formation in which you cannot simply pour it because you know that someone could jump. I think we have exceptional training.”

Carson Kelly Ges Yard! pic.twitter.com/j9p0tze3ke

– Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 5, 2025

The puppies are not rather the New York Yankees, but they have 16 Homer in the season and are a top-10 team in isolated (ISO). If they can continue to combine it with their high walking rate, it will be a brilliant offensive season. Add their strong basic race and the fact that they are only hitting 20.7 percent of the time, and it is easy to understand why this team is clicking early.

The Cubs had men on the base in each inning and, from the inning from two to six, they had at least two runners. They scored in the second, third and fourth, but the big blow came in sixth place when Kelly hit a shot from three shots to put the game out of reach at 7-0.

“This is what you do,” said Counsell. “Try to continue pressure on them. Keep making them pitches with men in a score position. In the end we took one. Only good and hard at-bads all day.”

In two games in Wrigley, the Cubs looked like a complete offense. They scored with the Big Homer – something they constantly did in Sacramento – and they won with expert Baserunning, as if they had returned to Arizona. With exits as if they had been obtained from Immanaga and Boyd, the team is full of trust and giving fans a first reason to be optimistic.

It is a long season and the team of last year has shown that a hot start can quickly become irrelevant. But in an April’s best of the best of the NL, the CUBS are showing that they could be ready for the challenge.

(Photo: Matt Marton / Image Images)