– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BALTIMORE — For Matthew Boyd, tossing a gem was child’s play … even though child’s play, literally, is the reason he has found himself playing catch-up, alongside a number of the walking wounded for the Chicago Cubs trying to get back from the injury ward.
Boyd tossed six scoreless innings, leading the Cubs to a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards to begin a three-game series on Tuesday. Alex Bregman went 2-for-5 with two runs driven in while Pete Crow-Armstrong, Dansby Swanson and Miguel Amaya each had two hits as well.
The lefty Boyd made just his eighth start of the season tonight, and his third since coming off the injured list after he tore his left meniscus while playing with his kids in early May. His six innings was the first time he went at least that many frames since May 3, and the first time Boyd’s gone at least six scoreless since Aug. 2 of last season — also against the Orioles.
“I’m just feeling good,” Boyd said. “We’ve just been on a good path.”
Boyd’s best work tonight came when Orioles were on the base paths, as Baltimore went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position while the lefty was on the mound. In the fourth, and with the Cubs holding a 1-0 lead, the Orioles put the first two runners on base before Boyd struck out the next three batters — Samuel Basallo, Blaze Alexander, and Dylan Beavers — in order.
“The first two guys get on, and the next two strikeouts were huge,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He kind of just bore down and made some really good pitches.”
Chicago struck twice in the next half-inning, as the first three Cubs reached base. Amaya followed up a lead-off single by Swanson with a double to put runners on second and third. Crow-Armstrong followed with a single to right to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Tuesday evening’s game, with photos taken by staff photographer Dale Horton. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 29 pictures in total.
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