Morning Mound Visit: What’s eating Matthew Boyd?

After a shaky start to the season, it looked like Matthew Boyd was starting to get settled in. He turned in two consecutive quality starts and hadn’t given up more than three runs in an outing in four straight starts. All the while, Boyd continued striking out more than a batter per inning. Then, on Wednesday, disaster struck again.

The Milwaukee Brewers tagged Boyd for 7 runs in three innings. Boyd walked four, gave up two bombs, and only struck out two. On the season, Boyd’s ERA is now up to 7.63. His FIP isn’t far behind at 6.09. It’s hard to get too wrapped up in results when in a normal season, we wouldn’t even be through Memorial Day. Still, a pitcher of Boyd’s quality shouldn’t be getting hammered this consistently even in a small sample.

The lone blemish on Boyd’s 2019 record was his trouble with the long ball. Among all qualified starters, Boyd gave up the most homers per nine innings at 1.89. That’s an alarming fact considering he calls the wide open spaces of Comerica Park home, and 26 of the 39 homers he allowed came at home. Boyd couldn’t just blame his homer problems on the juiced ball and playing in the same division as the Minnesota Twins.

This year isn’t much different. If Boyd isn’t missing bats, he’s not getting soft contact. Hitters are barreling up the ball with aplomb, and that simply appears to be a command issue. When Boyd is missing his spots, he’s missing over the heart of the plate rather than off of it. Boyd might have a devastating slider, but it doesn’t matter if he hangs it.

Wednesday was another tough pill to swallow for the #BoydBoys, and it isn’t clear if things are going to get much better.

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