Boyd has another solid start ahead of Deadline

DETROIT -- The Tigers defense created the jam. Matthew Boyd pitched his way out of it.

Considering the state of the trade market, Tuesday probably won’t be the last time Boyd walks off the mound at Comerica Park in a Tigers uniform. Just in case, a handful of fans behind the home dugout gave the left-hander a standing ovation on his way into the dugout. After Justin Verlander abruptly became a former Tiger two years ago at the end of a long road trip, they weren’t taking any chances.

“Anytime I put on a uniform could be the last time I put on a uniform,” Boyd said. “I’m just grateful anytime I get to put on a big league jersey.”

While Boyd’s sixth and final inning featured neither strikeouts nor home runs -- the two outcomes that have defined his recent starts -- it was a snapshot of what he has come to mean for this team and for others who might want to acquire him. He has one victory since the start of June, but for a club that has struggled for wins, he has given them their best chance at a victory most days he pitches. With six innings of two-run ball, Boyd kept the Tigers in a duel with the Phillies and Aaron Nola before Rhys Hoskins’ RBI single in the 15th inning sent Detroit to a 3-2 loss.

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“He got one ball up and they put it in the seats, but other than that he pitched really good,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “That’s a good-hitting baseball team. They’ve got a lot of strong hitters over there, and he had them guessing. That’s what he does best.”

Though the home-run bug bit Boyd again when Roman Quinn turned on a fastball for a two-run homer in the second inning, it was the only damage Boyd allowed. The lone hit off him after that was a sixth-inning single to left that Christin Stewart fumbled on the transfer to allow runners to advance to second and third with nobody out. It was the second error in as many batters, following a Harold Castro misplay on a Bryce Harper sharp grounder to lead off the inning.

With the Tigers trying to stay within a run, Gardenhire stuck with his ace. Boyd, in turn, stuck with the fastball-slider combination that has netted him so many key outs this season.

“Just making a pitch at a time,” Boyd said. “You know how to attack the guys that are at the plate. You remember how the previous at-bats played out. Couple that information together, formulate a game plan and just go at it one pitch at a time.”

His first pitch in the jam was his best, a 92 mph fastball inside that jammed Cesar Hernandez into a popup behind first base. Niko Goodrum ran it down, his glove outstretched for an over-the-shoulder catch. When he whirled to see if Harper might break for home, he saw Boyd stationed midway down the first-base line to take the throw.

After Boyd threw a first-pitch ball to slugger Maikel Franco, pitching coach Rick Anderson rushed out of the dugout for a mound visit to let Boyd think over his options. Boyd opted to intentionally walk the right-handed Franco to bring up left-handed hitter Adam Haseley. Boyd alternated sliders off the plate and fastballs in until Haseley popped one of the latter into foul territory near third base, where Jeimer Candelario tracked it down.

“If you can command the fastball in, it opens up everything on the other side of the plate,” Boyd said.

With Boyd one out away from escaping, up came Quinn, who had homered four innings earlier. The fastball Quinn hit out was the last one he saw from Boyd all evening. Boyd flipped him three sliders on the outside corner, the last of which Quinn popped up meekly to first.

“He knows how to pitch,” Gardenhire said.

It wasn’t flashy pitching from Boyd, but it was exactly what he needed to keep the Tigers close. Once Castro and Nick Castellanos doubled in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game, it loomed larger.

While Boyd posted eight strikeouts over six innings for the second consecutive start, and his fifth in a row fanning eight or more, he allowed his lowest run total since back-to-back scoreless performances at the end of May. As contending teams weigh where to value Boyd among the potential targets on the trade market, his ability to limit damage won’t go overlooked.

Even if the Tigers don’t deal him, Tuesday’s stinginess was a big step. Part of the appeal behind the three years Boyd has before he’s eligible for free agency is the kind of pitcher he can continue to grow into by the time those three years are up.

For now, Boyd isn’t worrying about it, or much of anything beyond the birth of his second child, whom he and his wife Ashley are expecting later this summer.

“It’s worrying about something we have zero control over,” Boyd said. “We’re having a kid in a month. I think the biggest thing, if I was going to worry, would be my wife’s health and my future son’s safety. Baseball’s pretty minimal compared to that.”