CHICAGO -- Ian Happ cracked a smile recently when asked about the pickoff move that Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd has used to nab unsuspecting runners at first base.
“His pickoff move, it’s gross,” Happ said. “It looks exactly like a slide step. I remember the report when we played him was just, ‘Stand on the base.’”
In a 2-1 win over the Pirates on Saturday afternoon, Boyd used his slick move to catch Tommy Pham by surprise in the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. The Pittsburgh left fielder had led off with a walk, but he was swiftly erased when Boyd snapped a throw to first baseman Michael Busch, who chased Pham down to apply the tag.
It was a crucial out within a low-scoring game, which featured Boyd’s 10th quality start of the season. The veteran starter allowed a one-out home run to Andrew McCutchen in the first inning, but Boyd then held the Pirates to an 0-for-16 showing over the remainder of his six innings for the North Siders.
“He just pitched really, really well,” manager Craig Counsell said. “The pickoff helped again to get through that inning. He continues to just do an excellent job.”
Boyd is also now the Major League leader with six pickoffs this season.
“He knew he had a good move. He was expecting a move,” Busch said of Pham. “And [Boyd] still was able to freeze him. It continues to happen, because there’s not much of a difference between him throwing home or throwing to first.”
Boyd has picked off a runner in each of his past three outings, equaling a Cubs record shared by Rick Sutcliffe (June 17-27, 1985, and June 7-17, 1986) and Bill Hands (May 28-June 6, 1970). Boyd’s six pickoffs in ‘25 already mark his single-season career high, eclipsing the five notched in 185 1/3 innings in ‘19 with the Tigers.
In his previous start on Monday in Philadelphia, Boyd used his move to catch Trea Turner off guard for the third out in the third inning. Two frames later, Boyd made an errant throw trying to pick off Otto Kemp, leading to a critical run in a 4-3 loss. Boyd was self-critical, but did not let it carry over into Saturday’s start.
“Something that’s kind of been an area of growth for me,” Boyd said, “is just, you want to err on the side of being aggressive, right? You don’t want to err on the side of being tentative. … Mistakes happen, and that’s ok. You learn from it and you don’t let it affect the next time you go out.”
Boyd said his particular pickoff move traces back to his days in youth baseball.
He estimated that he was around 9 years old when Mark Yoshino, the head coach at Bellevue College in Washington, taught him the mechanics at a baseball camp. All these years later, the 34-year-old Boyd will still meet with Yoshino and practice the pickoff when the pitcher is back home in the offseason.
“Mark, he used to joke, he goes, ‘If you don’t like someone, you just hit them and pick them off,’” Boyd said with a smirk. “I’m not going to try that at the big league level. It’s been something that I’ve always had in my career, ever since I was little.”
Boyd added that Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy (also a lefty) has had helpful tips to tighten the move up this season, too. One of the biggest keys is to not “fall into weird patterns” with the timing of the pickoffs. Boyd also has a lower arm slot that aids a quick release.
“Usually, the throw is right on the money and he gives me a shot to get a tag down,” Busch said. “I think anybody that has a great move, there’s not much you can do or see before to tell if he’s going home or he’s coming over to first.”
Or, as Pirates manager Don Kelly put it: “Ridiculous. Slide step pick that's really good.”
Boyd -- who is 6-3 with a 2.79 ERA through 14 starts this season -- said it is not always about getting the out, either. By putting it in the baserunner’s head, maybe Boyd can limit stolen bases. And if a runner is hesitant to take a larger lead, that can impact what happens on the next play.
“It’s huge,” Busch said. “If he can hold the guy at first and not let him get to second, now you’re talking about an extra hit to score the guy.”
“If you get an out,” Boyd said, “that’s a bonus. It’s a cherry on top.”