The Cubs are turning to a familiar October arm to open their Wild Card Series in San Diego. Craig Counsell said Monday that Matthew Boyd will start Game 1 against the Padres on Tuesday.
“We're going with Matthew Boyd. Plain and simple,” Counsell told reporters.
Boyd has been in this spot before. He started Game 1 against the Padres last year and delivered exactly what the Cubs needed, giving up one run over 4.1 innings in a 3-1 win.
Before that outing, he was emotional while talking about honoring his grandfather, a Cubs fan who grew up in Chicago. Asked about the moment then, Boyd said, “You never know when you're going to get this opportunity again.”
Now he gets that opportunity again, and the Cubs are leaning on the left-hander once more in a big spot. Boyd has handled plenty of important assignments for Chicago, including an Opening Day start and now what will be his third Game 1 playoff start between two Wild Card Series and the NLDS.
The road to this point has not been smooth. After an excellent 2025 season that earned him an All-Star nod, Boyd ran into both regression and injury trouble in 2026. A bicep strain cost him most of April, and then a knee injury suffered while sitting down to play with his children led to minor meniscus surgery and kept him out for nearly all of May and June.
Even with the missed time, Boyd still put together a solid year. In 22 starts and 126.2 innings, he finished with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.
He is also coming in sharp. Boyd allowed one earned run in each of his last two starts, both wins over the Cincinnati Reds and the Miami Marlins.
San Diego will counter with right-hander Michael King. The Padres have not announced anything beyond Game 1, and neither have the Cubs.
King logged a 3.21 ERA in 32 starts and 185 innings this season, the heaviest workload of his career. He also finished strong, posting a 2.53 ERA over his final seven starts.
Last year in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, King worked only the fourth inning but still struck out three. Counsell also confirmed that Kevin Gausman will pitch at some point during the series.
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The Cubs first postseason trip in years already comes with the usual October details, from the best-of-three Wild Card Series against the Padres to the TV setup on NBCSN and Peacock. But there is also a familiar voice returning to the booth for Cubs fans, as Jim Deshaies has delayed hip surgery so he can call the series for Marquee Sports Network.
It is the kind of small but meaningful boost that matters to a fan base settling in for tense, short-series baseball, especially with game times and umpire assignments now in place. For Chicago, hearing Deshaies on the call adds a layer of comfort and continuity to a matchup where every pitch will matter, even if the bigger drama is still to come. [Read more 🡒]
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Cubs Still Don't Know If Their Deadline Ace Can Start Game 1
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The uncertainty puts extra pressure on the rest of the rotation picture, with Matthew Boyd among the most obvious fallback options and several other arms in the conversation as well. Chicago is expected to make a decision soon, and until then the biggest question hanging over the postseason is whether its deadline addition can be trusted to start when the games get real. [Read more 🡒]