During spring training Matt Boyd was in competition for the fifth starting job against Anibal Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey. It was a contest which he eventually won. Now, six weeks into the season, Boyd has the second lowest ERA (3.89) among Tiger starting pitchers after Michael Fulmer’s 2.54.
After a rocky first start in which he gave up five earned runs, Boyd has gone six straight starts giving up three earned runs or fewer — five of which have been quality starts). Last year Boyd split time between Toledo and Detroit, and while he had a great 2.