No game is a ‘must-win’ game this early into the season, but the Cubs were just one loss away from losing a series to both the Nationals and Angels to begin the year. And their fate rested in the hands of Matthew Boyd, who was coming off a rough start on Opening Day. But fortunately, Boyd bounced back in the tough, frigid temperatures at Wrigley Field with one of his best performances in a Cubs uniform.

Last week, Boyd’s lone fault through three innings was a solo home run to Joey Wiemer, who went on a tear and reached base ten straight times to begin the season. So even though Boyd had seven strikeouts through the first three frames, his day was spoiled as he proceeded to give up six runs in the next inning before being pulled. Allowing six earned runs is never ideal, obviously, but his stuff looked sharp nonetheless. In fact, Boyd logged an astounding 20 whiffs against the Nationals in short order, 13 of which came from his 4-seam fastball.

Matthew Boyd Was a Lot Better in His Second Outing – Anything Change? (via Jacob Zanolla)

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