6-14-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
Pittsburgh managed to squeak out an extra-innings victory against the Cubbies and will try to get another win today facing lefty veteran Matthew Boyd for the 2nd time this year.
The journeyman southpaw is in his 11th MLB season and, so far, is playing some of his best baseball yet. He’s started 13 games for the Cubs, compiling a 2.89 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 74.2 innings of work.
He last faced the Pirates on April 30th, allowing 2 runs over 5 innings of work (previously covered here) where he displayed his trademark sidearm delivery, his fastball/changeup/slider/curve repertoire and a propensity for walks (3).
Surprisingly, the walks have greatly diminished since then as, after issuing 13 free passes in his first six games, Boyd has allowed just 5 walks in his last seven games with 40 strikeouts across six quality starts and a 3.05 ERA over that stretch.
Working in the zone more has been beneficial for Boyd, obviously, but he’s increased his changeup, which is getting more whiffs, while mixing and matching his curve/slider depending on opponent matchups.
Last time around, the Pirates had a 46% whiff rate against Boyd’s changeup and 67% against his slider so expect some BAD looking swings-and-misses for this Pirates team again today but if they can connect on his fastball, the Bucs have shown the ability to do damage against Boyd.
Oneil Cruz walked and doubled against Boyd last time around and Andrew McCutchen is 3-for-10 with a home run in his career against the veteran lefty. If the Pirates can find a way to limit strikeouts and get the ball in play, they should have a path to victory today.
Steel City Pirates 