How Tokyo Series prepared Cubs’ Matthew Boyd for WBC ramp-up

MESA, Ariz. – When left-hander Matthew Boyd jogged out to the mound for his first spring training start, he and the Cubs already had a good sense of the World Baseball Classic schedule he was building up to.“I’m not going to be doing something, in terms of between the white lines, that’s different than what I’ve done before,” he said after throwing 1 ⅔ innings Saturday in the Cubs’ 3-2 loss to the Rangers.Boyd praised Team USA manager Mark DeRosa and pitching coach Andy Pettitte for their communication with Cubs manager Craig Counsell and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy. The plan, Boyd said, is to use him like a starter – but that also includes piggyback setups like the Cubs used last March in Tokyo.For the second exhibition game in Japan last spring, Boyd technically entered in relief, but that was scripted. He went through his normal start-day routine, and the Cubs had reliever Daniel Palencia throw ⅔ of an inning to bridge the gap between right-handed starter Jameson Taillon and Boyd.In that game, on March 16, Boyd showcased a jump in velocity. Then he went on to have a healthy 2025 season and collect the first All-Star selection of his career.This year’s WBC is in a similar time frame, running from March 6-17.“Very comparable,” Boyd said. “That’s part of the reason why it was such an easy yes to go do the WBC stuff, is this because it’s very similar to what we did.”On Saturday, Boyd struck out two of…

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