Cleveland Skipper Announces Guardians’ ALDS Game 2 Starter

Matthew Boyd will start for the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the ALDS.

Aug 31, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians were wrapping up final preperastions fro Game 1 of the ALDS against the Detroirt Tigers when Stephen Vogt revealed some major news for Game 2 on Monday.

The Guardians skipper said the veteran pitcher Matthew Boyd would get the start for Cleveland in the second home game of the series.

This shouldn't come as a major surprise to anyone, given Cleveland's second half the season rotation and how effective Boyd has been since the begining of August. In his eight starts, Boyd posted a 2.72 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP, including five starts where he struck out six batters or more.

Sep 6, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) delivers to the plate in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

While Boyd is 33 years old and considered a veteran arm in the game, he's yet to appear in the postseason, making Monday his playoff debut. Still, his experience from pitching the majors for nine years will come into play against a young Detroit team.

Chris Atonetti said when they signed Boyd at the end of June that the organization was hoping that Boyd would be able to impact the rotation in some way in August. No one could have envisioned that he would be the second starter in their playoff rotation.

Another storyline from Game 2 will be who's taking the mound for the Tigers. Boyd spent the majority of their career pitching in Detroit and grew close to starter Tarik Skubal, who will get the nod for the Tigers. Skubal said ahead of the series on Monday that while the two remain friends, he'll certainly be rooting against him in the series.

While we're still waiting for Game 1's results, Game 2 is set up to be an entertaining pitching matchup, given the storylines and history.