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The Cubs are going with their All Star to set the tone for what they hope is a deep October run.
The team tabbed lefty Matthew Boyd as its starting pitcher for Game 1 of the best-of-three, opening-round playoff series against the Padres.
Boyd has been mostly great during his first season in a Cubs uniform, wrapping the regular season with a 3.21 ERA in 31 starts. His first half was particularly spectacular, a 2.34 ERA in 19 starts earning him his first career trip to the All-Star Game.
Of course, as those two sets of numbers would indicate, Boyd hasn’t been quite as stellar in the second half, with particular woes down the stretch; he had a 6.