It is hard to forget the highs and lows of the Chicago Cubs’ playoff run, which ended in a heartbreaking game five of the National League Division Series against their division rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers.
Unfortunately, with an ending to the season like that, it is much easier to dwell on the lows, which began at the very beginning of that series.
The Cubs quickly fell down 2-0 in the best-of-five NLDS as they dropped both games on the road, which meant they would have to win three straight to get to the NL Championship Series. That hole they dug themselves into started in the very first inning of the series when Matthew Boyd started.
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd | Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Boyd recently did an interview with Foul Territory and spoke about his time on the mound during the NLDS. Much of the noise about his performance in the opener focused on the three days’ rest he had between his starts, but he thinks otherwise.
“It is unfortunate that happened on short rest, because it is easy to point to that…but, physically, mentally, I felt great. The Brewers just got me. We made a new game plan for five days later and attacked that and it worked out in my favor,” said Boyd.
Boyd’s Game 1 Start
Matthew Boyd threw the first pitch in the opener, where the leadoff man for the Brewers hit a double to start things off. That was followed by another double by their second hitter, which quickly put them on the board. Then, another double followed.
The Cubs finally got an out, but Boyd then walked Andrew Vaughn to put a pair of runners on base. Unfortunately, further disaster followed, and Boyd was pulled after 0.2 innings while the Brewers had scored four times.
Matthew Boyd says his rough outing in Game 1 of the NLDS had nothing to do with short rest.
“They [the Brewers] just got me.” pic.twitter.com/7EBaEbvaCp
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 3, 2025
This clearly wasn’t the way that Boyd or the organization pictured game one going, as they lost 9-3. But Boyd bounced back in game four, which was a win-or-go-home battle at Wrigley Field. There, he pitched 4.2 innings, allowing just two hits and zero runs while striking out six.
Ultimately, the Cubs’ season did end in heartbreak, but Boyd’s ability to brush off the runs he let score in one inning in the opener is more than admirable. Next season is a long way off, but it’s guaranteed that he is ready for redemption.
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