For Boyd, the ALDS finale was much more than just a game

CLEVELAND — Matthew Boyd tried to talk through the emotions that were clearly starting to overwhelm him.

He uttered the word “gratitude”. He took a breath, and his mind wandered over all the days he'd spent coming back from Tommy John surgery this winter to get to this point: learning he'd win the American League division or get home ball in Game 5 of the series against his former team, the Tigers.

Tears could not be held back.

“This is what you dream of,” Boyd said, tears streaming down his cheeks but a smile on his face. “That's what you want, and you go do it.”

Parents did not inform Boyd that he would receive consent until 22 hours before Saturday's newly scheduled 1:05 p.m. ET start. There were plenty of options to weigh in. Cleveland could try to shake up the pitching chaos franchise with a bullpen game, turning in the best reliever in the majors. Or it could be with the guy who got the ball in Game 2 and led the club through 4 2/3 scoreless frames.

The Tigers only saw Boyd. Boyd just saw the Tigers. Is that an advantage for pitchers? For crime? Was the traffic he created in Game 2 enough to cause concern about him going back there in an elimination game on Saturday?

All these questions were reasons to consider multiple options. But in the end, the parents decided that going back to Boyd was the right answer.

“Pitching is pitching,” Boyd said. “Hitter will tell you what needs to be done. And I mean, at this point in the year, they have a good idea of ​​what I do, I have a good idea of ​​what they do, and it just comes down to execution and what not.”

There's no hiding from the Detroit organization when it comes to Boyd. He spent eight seasons of his 10-year career with the team. Sure, it's known him for five days, but people in that organization know more about his makeup than his new team — which has only known him since June — does at this point. As Boyd said, Game 5 is all about execution.

Capital punishment can be defined in a number of ways. Boyd may have only gone two or three scoreless innings before Cade Smith came out of the bullpen to continue his postseason dominance. Maybe it's Boyd establishing a tone early and earning his way through five or six frames. The plan is to pull Boyd to a certain point regardless of lining up the right matchups at key moments in the game.

Regardless, Boyd is ready.

“The goal is to get out,” Boyd said. “[The pressure is] What you want means you're alive. It means your heart beats.”

The Guardians have not been to the American League Championship Series since 2016. They haven't won a World Series since 1948 — the longest active drought of any Major League team. Boyd doesn't have to be here for an entire season to know the weight of this moment. Manager Stephen Vogt doesn't need years of management experience to know what that means for the organization. Cleveland is desperate to make another October run, and to do so, it needs to be aggressive.

Expect all hands on deck Saturday in front of a sellout crowd at Progressive Field. Smith will be pushed to his limits. Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and Emmanuel Claes must pitch, regardless of the score. If Boyd's duties are limited to just a few innings, the rookie relievers — Andrew Walters and Eric Zabrowski — could be tested in the final stretch. Parents have spent the last month trying to put them through the ringer to make sure they can handle this moment when it arises.

But for Boyd, it's more than just a game. It's an achievement that he's the guy a team is trusting in a do-or-die situation, when he was recovering from surgery just four months ago.

The idea that he was here now was so overwhelming that Boyd couldn't help but wear the emotion on his sleeve. But it also proved how ready he is for Game 5.

“The script is still being written regardless of the outcome,” Boyd said. “But that's what you want, and that's the cool part of it.”