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Forgive yourself if you didn’t notice, but Matthew Boyd is pitching like an ace.
The southpaw veteran has been a revelation for the Guardians since returning to the mound after undergoing Tommy John Surgery last June.
Coming into the season with a career 4.94 ERA, Boyd was dominant in eight regular season starts since debuting on Aug. 13 for Cleveland, posting a 2.72 ERA and a 3.29 FIP.
He brought that success into the postseason, tossing 4 ⅔ scoreless innings with five strikeouts against the Tigers, his former team, in Game 2 of this series.
Boyd gets to face Detroit again on Saturday, and oddsmakers appear to be underestimating his abilities.
FanDuel Sportsbook has Boyd’s strikeout over/under at just 3.5, which he has gone over in all but one of his nine starts this season, including his Game 2 outing against the Tigers.
Matthew Boyd celebrates after getting the last out of the fourth inning in the Tigers’ 3-0 win over the Guardians in Game 2 of the ALDS. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConAlthough they had a day off Friday, Cleveland’s bullpen comes into this game a bit taxed – no Guardians starter has gotten through the fifth inning in this series.
But even if the Guardians turn this game into a bullpen game early, Boyd has shown he can rack up the punchouts quickly, striking out 10.4 batters per nine innings during the regular season.
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The Tigers were one of the most strikeout-prone teams in baseball this season (24.3 percent strikeout rate, 8th-highest), and have been even more so during the postseason (29 percent).
Boyd doesn’t need to pitch deep into this game to hit the Over on this number.
The play: Matthew Boyd over 3.5 strikeouts (-110, FanDuel Sportsbook)
