Why Boyd's return to Tigers' rotation matters

DETROIT -- The Tigers have their core of young starters in place in their rotation. They still need veteran Matthew Boyd.

In that sense, Sunday was a big day, even in a 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays at Comerica Park that marked their seventh loss in their last nine home games.

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“He was our Opening Day starter. We lost something really big in our rotation when we lost him,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “There’s a vibe that he brings, leadership that he brings. His presence in our clubhouse matters. We feel like the day that he pitches, we’re going to have a chance to win. If he can finish strong, it can keep this motor churning a little bit towards the finish line.”

It would also give the Tigers a good idea of what their rotation should look like going into next season.

Boyd and José Berríos have seen enough of each other on the mound over the years. Sunday was a little different, and not just because it marked just their second career matchup as opposing starters. Berríos was pitching for Toronto, not Minnesota, after a Trade Deadline move that shored up the Blue Jays’ rotation for their playoff chase this year and beyond.

Boyd, meanwhile, was pitching to get his role back in his first start since June 14. Even with all the young pitching talent the Tigers boast, the lefty remains a potential stabilizing force at the center. This is the role Boyd was hoped to fill going into the season, and he was effectively answering the call for a good portion of the early season before getting hurt.

His first outing back suggests that he can do it again, an important development not only for September as the Tigers watch their young starters’ innings, but for next year. While the lineup is expected to be general manager Al Avila’s priority this offseason, he also needs to know what Detroit has in starting depth, and whether they need help. Simply counting on Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning to take logical steps forward isn’t necessarily enough.

That’s where Boyd comes in. He’s eligible for arbitration one more time this winter, and he could enter next season in a contract year. A midseason arm injury that initially looked like an absence of a few weeks became a much longer concern. Detroit held its rotation together with its talented young hurlers and a couple of surprising midseason contributors. But the club needed an effective veteran.

In that sense, Sunday was a big step.

“Just to be back in front of these fans in this park, it’s always special,” Boyd said. “I never take it for granted.”

Boyd’s 27-pitch opening inning looked like a throwback to his season, a leadoff strikeout of Marcus Semien followed by a home run against a right-handed hitter in Bo Bichette. A Vladimir Guerrero Jr. single and a two-out walk to Alejandro Kirk created a chance for more, but Boyd ended the threat with a changeup to fan Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

The changeup was the pitch that kept Boyd in the game while Berríos’ quick innings kept Boyd on the mound to labor in 90 degree heat. It was a pitch he threw a lot to polish in his final rehab start for Triple-A Toledo five days earlier, and it accounted for 20 of his 71 pitches Sunday, along with five of his 11 swings and misses from an aggressive, righty-heavy Jays lineup. He used it early and often in counts, including a called strike against Teoscar Hernández to strand runners at the corners in the third.

“When he’s at his best, he’s throwing three or four different pitches at all times,” Hinch said. “I loved the execution of his secondary pitches late. He threw some late breaking balls and changeups out of the zone that got some swing-and-misses, the climb fastball to Semien to start the day. That tells me he feels good, he’s in rhythm. I think he’s back to normal, albeit a little less volume than usual.”

Boyd used his changeup for a first-pitch strike to Kevin Smith with two outs in the fourth before his second-pitch sinker hung just enough for Smith to drive deep to left-center for his first Major League homer and a 2-0 Jays lead.

Both Blue Jays runs came on homers off Boyd fastballs, not a surprising stat after he led the Majors in home runs allowed the last two years. But his limit of other damage left those drives as solo shots. He allowed just two walks and two singles besides that, while striking out five.

Berríos took the lead and rolled, striking out 11 over seven innings while throwing 74 of 97 pitches for strikes. His lone run allowed reached on an error and scored when Harold Castro somehow connected with a changeup at his shoetops for a two-out RBI single in the sixth.