First Impressions From Matthew Boyd’s Cleveland Guardians Debut

Matthew Boyd was a pleasant surprise for the Cleveland Guardians in his season and team debut.

Aug 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians signed Matthew Boyd at the end of June with the hope that he’d be able to pitch valuable innings down the stretch for them. But even the front office must’ve been pleasantly surprised with his season debut, given the 33-year-old was rehabbing from offseason Tommy John surgery.

Boyd made five rehab starts before his first start of the season against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. He looked sharp in those appearances, but it’s still hard to compare that to big league-caliber hitters. 

Aug 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) delivers a pitch in the third inning against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Boyd threw 5.1 innings, gave up three hits, allowed one earned run, struck out six batters, and issued no walks. Cubs hitters had no answers for Boyd, as he even sent down the final nine batters he faced. 

The biggest part of this start that stuck was just how sharp Boyd was with his command. The lefty threw 80 pitches, with 76 percent of those being strikes, and Boyd was ahead in what felt like every one of his counts. 

Yeah, that'll do it.#Guardians | #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/N1hOcNrxIM

— Cleveland Baseball Insider (@GuardiansOnSI) August 14, 2024

Throwing strikes is one thing; getting outs is another. Boyd clearly had no problem doing the ladder, as can be seen in his six strikeouts. He also tallied 12 whiffs in his first outing, which is just another example of how in control he was with his pitches.

Cleveland has been begging for their starters to demonstrate more consistency this season, and it’s one of the reasons Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen are currently at Triple-A. Boyd still has to show he can do this on a start-to-start basis, but this start is certainly an encouraging sign for Cleveland's rotation for the rest of the season.