The Cubs lost to the Angels 5-4 in Tempe Thursday, but the big story of this one was Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd. Boyd had allowed five hits in less than two innings in his first spring start earlier this week.
Thursday afternoon in Tempe, Boyd was much better. He retired all nine Angels he faced — many of them expected to be on their Opening Day roster — and struck out three. He threw an efficient 34 pitches (23 strikes) and here’s how he struck out Mike Trout: