The New York Mets (26-15) scored four runs in the bottom in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 deadlock and hand the Chicago Cubs (23-18) the series loss in New York.

For Chicago it is the first time this season that the Cubs dropped back-to-back series this season, and just their fourth series loss of the season in the US.

Matthew Boyd had another terrific outing for the Northsiders, tossing six innings, allowing two runs and a season high eight strikeouts. Boyd did not factor in the decision but earned praise from his manager.

“Matt turned in another very, very good start,” Craig Counsell said to reporters after the game. “He gave us a great chance to win and continues to pitch at a very, very well and at a high level.”

Boyd, 34, has been pitching at that very high level all season long for Chicago, earning a 2.78 ERA with a 3-2 record. He’s recorded 45 strikeouts and 13 walks across 45.1 innings in his eight starts so far in 2025. For Boyd, the numbers look eerily similar to what he did with Cleveland to close 2024. In eight regular season starts for the Guardians he held a 2-2 record with a 2.72 ERA, striking out 46 and walking 13 in 39.2 innings on the bump.

Boyd underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow on June 28, 2023, ending his 2023 campaign with Detroit prematurely. Boyd would not sign a Major League contract with Cleveland until almost exactly a year later, joining the Guardians on June 29, 2024, making his season debut six weeks later against the Cubs.

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Boyd, who had 5.45 ERA in 15 starts with Detroit in 2023, was solid against Chicago in his first MLB start in over a year on August 13, 2024, tossing 5.1 innings and allowing just one run on three hits and striking out 6.

That start was the beginning of Boyd’s comeback, and his efforts down the stretch in 2024 with Cleveland, combined with his excellent postseason (11.2 innings, 1 run allowed) earned him a two year, 29-million-dollar contract with the Cubs in 2025.

Boyd has been worth every penny of that contract so far in 2025, providing stability to a Cubs starting rotation that is currently without its top two arms in Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga.

Where Boyd goes from here is the big question. The left-handed hurler hasn’t thrown more than 78.2 innings since 2019, when he made 32 starts and fired 185.2 innings in his first stint in Detroit. For the Cubs to accomplish their goals in 2025, win the division and make the playoffs for the first time in a full season since 2018, they’ll likely need Boyd to replicate that workload.

Matthew Boyd was a question mark entering the season for Chicago. But so far, he’s been the answer to the biggest issues the Cubs have faced this season.