Q. When you're told you're going to start Game 1 of a playoff series after coming back from injuries, what's that like for you, the emotion? What's your reaction?
MATTHEW BOYD: Grateful. I mean, it's something you dream of. To get to do it at Wrigley, to get to do it for the Cubs organization, it's something I don't take lightly and it's an amazing honor. I'm extremely grateful.
Q. How much does your experience not postseason, or even some of the other veterans in the clubhouse, how much do you think that helps with the blend and guys who have not experienced postseason, how much do you think that serves yourself personally and the team?
MATTHEW BOYD: I think it's one of those things where it is the same game but sometimes it's nice to share that knowledge and to kind of give a glimpses and prepare for everything that is a little bit different than the regular season.
But I think all in all, we have a very mature group from the guys that are in their first few years, and everybody in between. It's a solid group. So it's been fun.
Counsell has been awesome and talking to us as a whole just talking about, hey, the way you go about it is you play the same game, and you let everything take you there. You don't need to force anything. It's so true. So we have a very mature group and I know we're all super excited for it.
Q. A couple of times it's been brought up about -- given how your career has gone and being in this position now, what does it mean to you that you are able to do that this year?
MATTHEW BOYD: It means a ton. It's something I've always prided myself in is taking the ball. Doesn't matter how you feel. Doesn't matter what's going on. You go out there and compete. Obviously I haven't been able to do that since 2020 when we all kind of made short seasons.
But I'm really grateful. There's a lot of credit that's due to the training staff, to Tommy, to Couns. They took care of me this season in the best way. They didn't push me away and whatnot when the games dictated it, and we just had a lot of open communication and a lot of credit is owed to them. They laid the groundwork out in spring training, and I'm just grateful that we were able to do it together.
Grateful that I'm going to enter into this postseason feeling amazing.
Q. When you face a team that's heavily left-handed, Manny, Tatis, right-handed, do you go into it thinking: I can't let those two beat me? Do you navigate around them a lot to get to the lefties?
MATTHEW BOYD: You have to attack every hitter the same way. Those guys are extremely talented. They are talented if you are right- or left-handed. So you go out there, you pitch your game. Sometimes situations dictate maybe something different but all in all you attack every hitter, every single pitch the same way. You go out there and compete.
Q. The belief this group has in each other, can you describe how it's come together? It started in spring training, and I feel like it gets overlooked a little bit.
MATTHEW BOYD: What's really cool is through the ups and downs of the season, our belief has not wavered, our belief of where we stand in the overall calculus in this league and whatnot and who we are.
I think those days that we had in Tokyo, those games we had in Tokyo really brought us close together. It was just us and our spouses in a foreign country for a week. It led to a lot of good memories. It led to a lot of cohesiveness. It set the tone through the year. Through every trial, whether someone has gone down through -- whether it's been a rough patch or -- the mentality has stayed the same.
The tone has stayed the same. That's huge over the course of 180 days plus. Definitely something that's special about our ballclub.
Q. You've faced the Padres twice this year. How much do you take from those games? I know they were way back in April. Do you erase what you went through because it's been so long?
MATTHEW BOYD: Yeah, you take every piece of knowledge that you can, and you use it to the best game plan as you can.
So whether it's that, whether it's the history that I have with facing Manny, even before that; whether the second half of the season they have had as well, too, right. You look at everything and develop the best game plan. You know, look at it over the course of a year and whatnot. But you take all the information you can, make a good game plan and go out there and execute from Pitch 1.
Q. You mentioned Manny. He mentioned you guys have known each other for a long time. What's that relationship been like, and what's it going to be like facing him tomorrow?
MATTHEW BOYD: I had the honor -- I didn't take team USA when I was 18. I was one of the last cuts, but was that was an extremely talented group, and I got to know Manny a little bit then. You know, just got to play against him over the years, and he's a great talent. I mean, he's one of the premiere ballplayers in our league, a generational talent, and he shows that year-in and year-out.
He's always, looking ahead, you circle him in the lineup but you go out there and attack him just like anybody else.
Q. Other than pitching your butt off all year, wherever you pitched, Wrigley Field was a special place for you this year. Is it just home-field advantage or is there something extra magical for you about it?
MATTHEW BOYD: The mound is 60 feet, six inches away from home plate every single ballpark. So when you go out there, it doesn't matter where it's at. You go out there and pitch. I will say this: It's special to get to pitch at Wrigley and it means a ton. It means a ton to pitch in front of our fans.
I think we have the best fans in baseball. They are so passionate. They get behind us. They are selling out Monday night games in April all the way through the year, right. That means a lot to us as a ballclub. They give us energy. They make it feel like the playoffs every time we're out there.
To answer that question in a different way, it's fun to get to play in front of our fans and now we get to start out this postseason here.
Q. James had talked the other day about it being your guys turn to pick Cade up after he picked the rotation up early in the year. How do you view that being without him, your guys' job and where the staff is going into these playoffs?
MATTHEW BOYD: I think when you look at the totality of 162 games, it's cliché but it is a marathon. And every game matters the same. You know, whether it was April, some of those games in March, and going forward, I think we have all had our points where we've done special things.
And Kade down the stretch has been the best pitcher in baseball. I feel like it's easy to say. The numbers back that up.
It's a bummer that he's not going to be on the mound crossing the line with us in this time. But that's why there's 26 of us in there. That's why there's a 40-man roster. Just as Cade did when Stealy (ph) went down and we had some flux in the rotation and Cade stepped up, and has gone above and beyond. I'll be doing our parts to get a W. 27 outs can come tomorrow, and we'll be prepared to do that, but we'll do that collectively. It's not done individually.
I think that's the makeup of this team and that's what, essentially, I mean, that's what makes these runs special is it's never just about one guy. It's about the group. He's been right there with us, even when he hasn't been able to pick up a baseball these last few days, he's still very much in it.
But he's been special for us this year, and it's our job to, you know, do this job now.
Q. You used the word dream, dreams. I wanted to ask you more about that. You seem like a sentimental, thoughtful guy. Are you feeling all kinds of big things right now, big conflicting feelings about what you have, this team, this season, this opportunity, your career and all that? And managing that, too, I'm thinking of Rizzo and the emotions. What are you feeling?
MATTHEW BOYD: I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, you know? It's cool. (Fighting tears).
Like you think about a career. You think about what -- (tearing up, using shirt to wipe away tears) how ridiculous, man.
This is cool because -- it's cool for so many different reasons. It's cool because you never know when the opportunity presents itself. You know, I waited my first eight years to get the chance of a postseason. Didn't really get to be a part of it on the field. I only threw one out. You never know when the opportunity is going to come again.
To do it with the Cubs, to do it with this group, it will never be like this again. I mean, we come back here, the personnel will not be the same. It's a special group. It's a good group of guys. And it's unique to this moment, and that's it.
To get to think that I would have got this opportunity knowing everything about my grandfather growing up here, it's cool (voice quivering) it's cool stuff. He would be extremely happy.
You owe me one for making me cry up here now (laughter) I felt like I was a bull in a China shop up until this. You got me going on that.
But that's the cool stuff. My grandfather grew up in Chicago. He grew up a Cubs fan. I think 2016 was one of the happiest days of his life. I get to be a Cub now. It pretty cool.
Q. Did you tell your dad? What did he think when you told him you get the start?
MATTHEW BOYD: He's already on a plane. He'll figure it out. He's excited. I mean, you know you're going to be a part of it, whatever role it may be. You know your job is to get outs.
So you're just preparing yourself, hey, I'm going to get outs on Tuesday, and whatever the role is or whatnot, I'll be prepared for that. But yeah, everyone's excited. The family's coming and it's going to be fun.
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