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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Kershaws role is the one that stands out, since he will work in a specialized Inside the Pitch segment focused on pitching analysis. The former Dodgers ace brings real credibility to that job, but his long history of facing the Padres gives the assignment a tricky look from the outside, especially in a series where every detail is likely to be scrutinized closely. [Read more 🡒]