Manager Craig Counsell and the Chicago Cubs expected some cobwebs in Matthew Boyd’s outing on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field.
The left-hander was pitching in his first game in the majors in 21 days, after a bicep injury landed him on the 15-day injured list. Boyd worked around a rocky second inning to toss 4 2/3 innings of two-run ball on five hits in the Cubs’ 7-2 win over the Phillies that extended their winning streak to eight.
It’s the Cubs’ first streak of eight or more wins in the month of April since 1970. The Phillies, meanwhile, have lost eight straight, their longest skid since 2018.
“I think that’s hopefully what you expect is a little bit of rust after not being out there that much for the last three weeks,” Counsell said after the win. “But I think he got it going a little bit after that second inning. Last eight outs, I thought he got it going a little bit.”
Boyd’s return to the Cubs’ rotation is a welcome boost for a group that has thrived during the winning streak. Cubs’ starters boast a 2.09 ERA in that span, the third-best mark in the majors. On Wednesday, Boyd and the rest of the Cubs’ staff continued to show just how strong they’ve been.
“It’s taken all of us, from the starters to every man in the bullpen, and it’s been impressive,” Boyd said. “Tonight was another example of that.”
Boyd was activated off the IL before the game, with left-hander Luke Little optioned to Triple-A Iowa to make room on the active roster. The Cubs’ opening-day starter threw a 15-pitch, perfect first inning. He returned in the second with a one-run lead after Ian Happ drove in Nico Hoerner on a fielder’s choice.
The Phillies showed a more patient approach in the second inning, forcing Boyd to throw 30 pitches in the frame. Edmundo Sosa tied the game on a seven-pitch at-bat that ended in a double. Sosa worked the count full after Boyd started him 0-2, then dropped a 107.6 mph line drive down the left field line for an extra-base hit.
“I think there was some chances to put guys away 0-2 sooner than I did,” Boyd said. “To me, that’s some of the things that we could probably get a little bit sharper on. I think there were (five) hits, three of them were heaters that leaked back middle.”
Boyd settled in after that, allowing just two hits over the final 3 1/3 innings of work. The Cubs’ offense quickly took back the lead and added on, thanks to a trio of hitters who are finding their groove.
Michael Busch entered the game hitting .173, but hit his first home run of the year and finished 2-for-4. Alex Bregman, who entered Wednesday with a paltry .340 slugging percentage, hit a triple that caromed off the front edge of the left-center basket, inches from landing for a home run, as part of a three-hit night. Seiya Suzuki, who had just one extra-base hit before Tuesday, hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, his second straight game with a home run.
“You’re not going to have all nine guys all rolling at the same time,” Counsell said. “A good offense, if you’ve got enough good hitters in there, you expect a group of them, at times, to be seeing it well and swinging it well. Tonight, some of the guys that were maybe off to a little bit of a slower start had big nights.”
The Cubs’ offense and Boyd’s start allowed Counsell to turn it over to Ben Brown to bridge the gap to the back of their bullpen. Brown, who has worked exclusively as a multi-inning reliever this season, kept the Phillies off the board, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out five of the 10 batters he faced.
“Today I thought he was really sharp, really dominating the zone, getting ahead of hitters frequently,” Counsell said. “He’s already up to (19) innings, but kind of spaced out and in good ways, and he’s been very important as kind of a glue to the bullpen right now.”
Brown’s mental development has helped him turn into a key piece of a pitching staff that has needed his innings. The right-hander pitched two scoreless innings in his last outing on April 18, an appearance that included a wonky second frame.
In that game, he allowed two infield hits, a fielder’s choice and an error that scored a run and threatened to derail his outing. But he kept the lead, allowing Caleb Thielbar to close the door. On Wednesday, Brown attacked the Phillies’ lineup and never looked like he was in trouble.
“That last outing, that was really important for him to get over that hump there and have success in that big spot when things — he pitched well that game — (but) things didn’t go right,” Counsell said. “There were four balls in the infield that didn’t get out of the infield, and all of a sudden, there’s a rally going. Tonight was the good stuff with the strikeouts. (It’s) part of getting better.”
Boyd and Brown, in different roles, are key cogs for a Cubs’ pitching staff that already lost Cade Horton for the season and still has nine arms from their 40-man roster on the IL.
“There’s so many guys that have stepped up in this time,” Boyd said. “It’s a collective effort, and it’s the next-man-up mentality. It’s been kind of said ad nauseam, but that’s the way it has to be.”
Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
