Saturday showed what happens when your best option isn’t really your best option. Craig Counsell has previously displayed a willingness to live and die with his proven veterans, and that was the case in Game 1 of the NLDS in Milwaukee when Matthew Boyd made the start on three days’ rest. Yes, the same Boyd who had faltered in the second half as his innings count climbed well past anything the organization had planned for him before the season.
Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said back in January that the Cubs would be “really happy” getting Boyd to 120 innings, which would have been about 10 more than he’d thrown in the previous two seasons combined.