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When Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd takes the Wrigley Field mound in Game 1 of the wild-card series, he’ll know what to do with the extra nerves and excitement that come with playoff stakes.
“It’s all energy,” Boyd said in a recent conversation with the Sun-Times. “You just acknowledge it for what it is, and you feed off it.”
He’s pitched in big moments in the postseason before. But this year is unique.
For the first time in Boyd’s career, he’s going to be a key member of a playoff rotation after serving as a cornerstone of the team’s success for the entire season.