During Matthew Boyd’s year-long recovery from Tommy John surgery, his oldest child, Meira, kept asking him when he was going to join a new team. He responded by telling her that as soon as he felt God calling him to begin a new chapter of his baseball journey, he would obey.
“When God shows us who to sign with, we’ll do that,” was how Boyd described his response during an interview with WOIO on Saturday.
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That interview took place in an ecstatic Cleveland Guardians clubhouse after Boyd tossed two scoreless innings (including five strikeouts) in a winner-moves-on Game 5 against the Detroit Tigers, his former team, to send Cleveland to the AL Championship Series.
On Thursday, Boyd will make the biggest start of his career. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt announced Wednesday that Boyd — who had recorded exactly one out in the postseason before this year — would be getting the ball in Game 3 of the ALCS with Cleveland trailing the New York Yankees, 2-0.
Boyd made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015 and was traded to the Tigers at the trade deadline that year. He stayed with Detroit until signing with the San Francisco Giants in 2022 as he recovered from a surgery to repair a flexor tendon. But he was traded to the Seattle Mariners before he could make an appearance for the Giants, posted a 1.35 ERA in 10 relief appearances for Seattle, then returned to the Tigers in 2023, but made only 15 starts before needing surgery again. Boyd became a free agent after the season ended.
He did not sign with the Guardians until June this year. He went more than a year without making a start in the majors, but now he’s making big-time postseason starts. Throughout the grueling, mentally taxing rehab process, the 33-year-old leaned on his faith in God and kept trusting the Lord’s plan for him.
He made his first appearance for the Guardians on Aug. 13 and posted a 2-2 record with a 2.72 ERA in eight regular-season starts. Boyd took the mound in Game 2 of the AL Divisional Series and tossed 4.2 scoreless innings (with five strikeouts) in what was ultimately a 3-0 loss.
In both games against the Tigers, Boyd faced off against likely Cy Young winner and former teammate Tarik Skubal. Reflecting on the series of events that led to him facing Skubal and the Tigers, Boyd gave glory to God for the way everything played out.
“I don’t write the script, but the One who does writes it a lot better than me, as I’ve said many times,” he said in a press conference before Game 5. “It’s pretty cool.”
Matthew Boyd's 3Ks in the 1st…and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/P9xnJNOmP3
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 12, 2024
Boyd, who on social media says he plays for an “Audience of One,” wrote a devotional for the Spring 2024 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine talking about the challenges that come with such a long recovery process and the confidence he has in God’s plan for him.
“I trust God and know He has good things planned for me,” he wrote in the devotional. “I know He’s got me and I’m His handiwork. Every time there have been these unknowns in my life, He has come through better than I could have imagined, and I know He’s going to do it again.”
God did by bringing Boyd to Cleveland. In his interview with WOIO on Saturday, Boyd expressed on multiple occasions how thankful he was and complimented his teammates’ willingness to sacrifice for the greater good of the team.
“From the top down, it’s just high-character people,” he said. “They care about the person, and that’s the sort of thing that just transcends the game, right? We’ve got guys who are willing to do anything to win a game, willing to get behind the guy next to them. That doesn’t always happen.”
The Guardians are nearly in must-win territory as they trail the AL’s No. 1 seed 2-0 in the series. But no AL team won more home games this season than the Guardians, so they’re certainly confident playing at home.
“At this point in the year, your job is to get outs,” Boyd said prior to his Game 5 outing. “Our goal is to get 27 outs, and if you need more than that, then you go get more than that. How it comes about, like, the cool thing about our team is that our egos are checked at the door. We have one goal.”
First pitch Thursday from Progressive Field in Cleveland is at 5:08 p.m. ET.
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