Boyd does it again as Cubs top Guardians

David Banks - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 13 hours ago

CHICAGO - As bad as June was for the Chicago Cubs (50-35), especially to close out the month, they still managed to avoid a losing record and finished the month going 13-13. In the process, the Cubs saw their lead in the NL Central dwindle by four games as they are going to be in for a dogfight the rest of the way.

Coming off an off day on Monday, the Cubs were back at Wrigley Field on Tuesday to kick off a six-game homestand with the Cleveland Guardians (40-43). Hoping that July can bring better fortunes than what June did, the Cubs got off to a great start as they took care of the Guardians 5-2 to open the month of July with a win.

What is becoming the norm every fifth day, Matthew Boyd was once again on top of his game, proving to be one of the best offseason acquisitions. The lefty has done more than the Cubs even expected from him; with an 8-3 record and a 2.65 ERA, Boyd is likely to receive some All-Star consideration.

Tuesday was more of the same for the left-hander as he gave the Cubs seven strong innings once again, allowing two runs and striking out five. All five of those hits came in the first four innings as Boyd got stronger as the game went on. Considering he worked around a pair of first-inning singles, the job he did to keep the Guardians off the board early can't go unnoticed, especially when you look at what the Cubs did in the second.

Opposing Boyd was Gavin Williams, and the hard-throwing right-hander had his moments on the mound, but also his struggles as he walked four in 5 2/3, also allowing four runs. Three of the four runs charged to him came in the second inning, and it was a crazy inning at that. Not only did Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson opening the inning with a pair of singles, but Michael Busch made it three singles in a row as the Cubs went on top for good 1-0.

Carson Kelly kept the line moving for the Cubs as he followed those singles with a double to bring home two more runs to make this a 3-0 game. Kelly was thrown out trying to advance to home on a throwing error, as that was the theme of the inning. Add in the two pickoffs on the bases, and the Cubs made all three of their outs on the bases to become the first team since 1991 to do that.

Still holding their 3-0 lead in the fourth, it was the Guardians' turn to touch up Boyd as Carlos Santana started things off with his second hit in as many at-bats to set the offense up with a double. Lane Thomas worked a walk after that before Nolan Jones' single not only put the Guardians on the board but also had runners on the corners. An Angel Martinez sacrifice fly pulled the Guardians within 3-2, but that was it for their offense as Boyd registered his MLB-leading seventh pickoff of the season to help get out of the inning.

It was at that moment when Boyd became as dominant as he was at any point of the game, as he went on to retire the final 12 hitters he faced, putting the pressure back on the Cubs offense to do some damage. Apart from the second inning, the Cubs' offense failed to generate much offense against Williams, although they did have a pair of runners on base in the fourth, only to leave them stranded.

Leave it to Seiya Suzuki to change that with one swing as he led the bottom of the sixth off with his team-leading 23rd home run to push the Cubs lead to 4-2. Suzuki also leads the Cubs with 70 RBIs, as his play alone is worthy of an all-star bid. With Boyd out of the game after seven, this turned into a battle of the bullpens, which, at this point, you have to give the Cubs the advantage, especially knowing that Brad Keller and Daniel Palencia were set to take the ball.

Keller struggled at times with his command, but following a scoreless eighth inning, the Cubs took their 4-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth. Chicago did what they needed to do to tack on a run-off Kyle Manzardo as a pair of singles from Crow-Armstrong and Busch helped set things up for Kelly as his sacrifice fly capped off a three-RBI day with the Cubs in front, 5-2 lead.

That would be all the offense they would need in this one as Palencia came in to slam the door shut in dominating fashion in the ninth, securing two punchouts while topping 102 MPH several times. Chicago continues to get production from the top down in their lineup, as Busch led the offense with three hits. Kelly and Crow-Armstrong added two hits, with Kelly driving in three in the win.