Former Guardians starter lays egg for Cubs in Wild Card Series matchup against Padres 

Prior to the 2025 season, Matthew Boyd signed a two-year, $29 million contract with the Cubs thanks to a strong postseason showing for a Guardians team that made it all the way to the American League Championship Series. 

His postseason debut yesterday was the furthest thing from that, however. Boyd and the Cubs started their Wild Card Series against the Padres on Wednesday with an 8-0 loss that was punctuated by a rough start from Boyd where he allowed four runs in four innings on five hits. 

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Boyd’s start got off to the worst start possible when he allowed a leadoff home run to Frenando Tatis Jr. on the first pitch of the game that was followed by a homer to Manny Machado two batters later. 

After the start, Boyd said that he “knew” Tatis was going to swing at the first pitch, but he missed with a changeup over the heart of the plate that Tatis ended up sending 405 feet to center field to stake San Diego to an early 1-0 lead. 

While Boyd has been a productive pitcher in his two seasons with the Cubs (he was an All-Star last season), his ERA was 70 points higher this year compared to last season and now has a rough postseason start on his ledger. 

The Padres ended up recording one more homer off Boyd (a solo shot from Xander Bogaerts in the fourth inning) before he was replaced by Javier Assad. The Cubs eventually had to turn to another former Guardian in Aaron Civale, who allowed one run on three hits. 

The Cubs may have the likely National League MVP in Pete Crow-Armstong and a lineup filled with sluggers, but the beauty (or horror) of the Wild Card Series is that all that can go away in an instant. 

It may not be as unforgiving as the previous iteration that included a one-game Wild Card, but it can still elicit a lot of heartbreak. 

There’s also a good chance that Boyd’s start against the Cubs could be the last time he takes the ball for the Cubs. His contract has a mutual option for 2027, but those are almost never picked up.

If that’s the case, it’ll end a productive part of his career that started when he called Stephen Vogt and apologized after he signed his contract with the Cubs. 

The Guardians helped Boyd resurrect his career after he had to navigate a variety of injuries and underperformance, and that helped set up his third act with the Cubs.

His dud in the postseason could lead to him playing the next part of his career elsewhere.

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