Veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd was delighted to join a Cubs team that had potential for offensive firepower and a strong defense when he signed with Chicago in the offseason.
And the Cubs, leading the National League in batting average and runs — and sitting second in home runs — have not been disappointing.
They showed that scoring ability Tuesday night with a 9-0 win over the Pirates, and Boyd will hope for the same run support when he faces host Pittsburgh in the second game of a three-game series on Wednesday night.
In the first game of the series, all nine batters in the Cubs’ lineup recorded at least one hit, and none struck out, marking the first time that’s happened since July 3, 2013. Seiya Suzuki blasted one of four home runs for Chicago and came within a single of hitting for the cycle.
Said Boyd: “It’s the reason I signed here and why we all believe to dream big. We want to be a team that’s playing at the end of October, but there’s a lot to do until then.”
In five starts this season, Boyd (2-2, 2.54 ERA) has been the beneficiary of seven runs in each of his two wins and a combined two runs in his two losses. In his most recent outing, a 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 23, he gave up double-digit hits (10) for the first time this season, allowing six runs (three earned). He surrendered two home runs as he walked one and struck out four.
The 34-year-old Boyd, who is with his fifth major league club, is 0-3 with a 7.11 ERA in five career starts against the Pirates. His most recent start against them was his most successful, even though he took a 3-0 loss. Pitching for the Cleveland Guardians last Aug. 31, he gave up one run on four hits in six innings.
On Wednesday, he will face a Pittsburgh lineup that continues to struggle, after being shut out for the fifth time this season. The Pirates are next to last in batting in the National League — .224 compared with the Cubs’ .263.
Multiple injuries to projected starters prompted the Pirates to move their Wednesday starter, Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3, 6.95 ERA), from the bullpen to the rotation. But the 26-year-old has struggled overall, especially when he faces a lineup for the second and third time in a game.
His most recent start last Thursday produced slightly better results than his prior two outings, as he allowed three runs on five hits, including a home run, struck out four and walked one in his team’s 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
The Pirates took a 3-0 lead into the fourth inning before Mlodzinski gave up three runs in the inning.
After the game, he dissected his performance.
“The consistent things I’m noticing are my fastballs are being driven down in the zone, especially when I start to fatigue,” Mlodzinski said. “I thought (Thursday) I did a better job of that, getting my fastball up in the zone later in the game, but it’s not necessarily my fastball getting damaged. It’s more the tight slider, and I’m not creating the space I need to create in the zone for guys to respect the top of the zone with the hard stuff so the slider can play better.”
Although Pittsburgh starters Jared Jones and Johan Oviedo are not ready to make their season debuts as they recover from injuries, Mlodzinski’s struggles have prompted many to question whether the Pirates should promote one of their top pitching prospects from the minor leagues and move Mlodzinski back into the bullpen.
Mlodzinski has never started against the Cubs but has a 2.45 ERA in 7 1/3 career relief innings against them.
–Field Level Media
