Game Recap: Boyd dazzles as Cubs blank Cardinals

Tim Vizer - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 5 hours ago

ST. LOUIS - Anytime you lose the way the Chicago Cubs (47-33) did on Tuesday, it serves as a reality check of how quickly things can change throughout a baseball season. The good news is that the Cubs had an opportunity to return to Busch Stadium on Wednesday with a chance to use that loss as motivation.

Not only did the Cubs respond, but they responded in a big way as Matthew Boyd continued his impressive start to the season and set the tone for what was an 8-0 shutout victory against the St. Louis Cardinals (44-37). Say what you want about Boyd's injury history and the possibility of a heavy workload catching up to him.

The bottom line is that this has gone down as one of the best free-agent signings of the offseason, and the Cubs wouldn't be a first-place team without him. Boyd continued to go about his business on Wednesday, holding the Cardinals to three hits through six shutout innings as he improved to 7-3 on the season with a staff-best 2.65 ERA. If he doesn't get some all-star recognition, it would be a shame, as Boyd has been the MVP of the Cubs pitching staff so far.

When you look at Cardinals starter Erick Fedde, he, too, has been pitching extremely well this season. Had the Cardinals not gotten hot over the past month, there was a high likelihood that he could have been on the move come the deadline. That may not be the case anymore, as the Cubs jumped all over Fedde, touching him up for seven earned runs in 3 2/3 innings.

That included another leadoff homer from Ian Happ in the first as the Cubs jumped out to an instant 1-0 lead and never looked back. The long ball played a significant role in the Cubs' overall success, as they hit three homers in the victory. Despite the fast start from Happ, things were just getting started for the Cubs' offense as all eight of their runs came in the first five innings, including a three-run second to open up a commanding 4-0 lead.

Dansby Swanson started things off in the second with a leadoff double before coming home on the Michael Busch single to double the Cubs lead. With Busch still standing on the bases with two outs, Reese McGuire came up clutch again as he connected for his fifth homer of the season to put the Cubs in front 4-0. Kyle Tucker added another homer for the Cubs third homer in as many innings as it was all Chicago early 5-0.

Anytime you can spot a pitcher five early runs, you like your chances of winning that game, but to spot Boyd five runs when he has been pitching as well as he has is another story. As mentioned, Boyd was on top of his game, allowing just three hits in six innings, two of those coming in the bottom of the third.

After Yohel Pozo started things off with a leadoff double, the Cardinals' offense was in business, as this was their best scoring chance up to this point. Masyn Wynn managed to add an infield single later in the inning to put runners on the corners, but it was Boyd standing tall as he managed to escape without trouble.

The same can't be said for Fedde and the Cardinals, as the Cubs continued to keep the pressure on in the fourth, with Busch starting the inning off with a single before stealing second to put himself in scoring position. Busch would eventually reach third ahead of a Matt Shaw walk, but with Shaw also stealing a base, the Cubs had two runners in scoring position and the top of their order coming to bat.

They certainly didn't disappoint as Happ capped off his three-RBI night with a two-run single that stretched the Cubs' lead to 7-0. Chicago would wind up loading the bases in that inning on a Tucker single mixed with a Seiya Suzuki walk, but were unable to tack on any more runs in that inning before Shaw added the Cubs final run in the fifth on an RBI fielder's choice.

With Boyd out of the game after his six brilliant innings, the pressure was on the Cubs' bullpen to close things out, as they have been struggling lately. Not only did they close things out, but the trio of Ryan Brasier, Michael Fulmer, and Porter Hodge were brilliant as they combined to allow just one hit over the final three frames to close out an 8-0 win.

This was one of those games where both the pitching and the hitting set the tone, as the Cubs had 11 hits in the win. Happ, Tucker, Swanson, and Busch all led the way with two hits in the victory. The Cubs will look to come away with a series split tomorrow as Shota Imanaga returns to the mound to face Andre Pallante.