Skubal, Boyd make full-circle journey with Game 2 showdown

CLEVELAND — Walk by Matthew Boyd’s locker, and something stands out: Gloves. Lots and lots of gloves.

“I’ve got a collection,” the Guardians left-hander said. “Added a red one this year.”

Boyd has more than he could possibly use. He had half a dozen stacked in his locker during his stint with the Tigers. Some are decorative, like a snakeskin design. One is water-resistant for bad weather. But for all his fancy gloves, he trusts just a couple worn-in gloves for games.

When rookie left-hander Tarik Skubal forgot to pack his glove for a trip to Minnesota in 2020, Boyd lent him one of his game gloves.

That same COVID-shortened season that they shared a glove, they shared dinner.

“He invited me over for my first dinner in the big leagues because it was COVID so we couldn’t go out to dinner, and we probably weren’t supposed to be in each other’s rooms,” Skubal recalled. “He had dinner for us.”

Four years later, they’ll share a mound in the postseason. Only one of them can get a spot in the ALCS. Their starting assignments in Game 2 of the AL Division Series on Monday at Progressive Field will go a long way to determining that.

It’s a story of mentoring and guidance, but it goes both ways. Boyd helped Skubal find his way in the Major Leagues. Skubal helped Boyd find his way back.

Skubal and Boyd had a lot in common beyond being left-handed. While Boyd was born and raised in Seattle, Skubal played college ball at Seattle University.

“I’ve had the chance to know Tarik since his last year at Seattle U, when he came into the organization,” Boyd said.

Skubal was an up-and-coming prospect in 2020, already showing way more talent than expected out of a ninth-round Draft pick. Boyd was the Tigers’ ace coming off a 238-strikeout season, and was deep into pitch design.

“There’s not much that he needed help with,” Boyd said. “You talk about a guy that just has all the tools and is dripping with drive and talent, right? I think that you’re on a team with someone, we’re all trying to make each other better.”

After the season, Boyd welcomed Skubal to his home in Seattle in the offseason to work out at Driveline.

“I struggled pretty heavily in 2020 and a lot of early ’21, too,” Skubal said. “And I had a lot of discussions with him, just like, mentally — you’re worried about going up and down. How do I just focus on my job? And he had a lot of advice and a lot of good stuff for me throughout all that. …

“So I think that speaks to the guy he is. I think he’s the nicest guy in the world. I told him that: Like, dude, you should act a little more mad sometimes. He’s so nice all the time.”

Boyd’s first Tiger tenure ended after the 2021 season, shortly after he underwent flexor tendon surgery. He signed with the Giants, then returned to action with his hometown Mariners, including an impressive outing against the Tigers.

When the Tigers signed Boyd again that fall, Skubal was rehabbing from flexor tendon surgery. Boyd was a sounding board for him.

“They were a little bit different [surgeries],” Boyd said. “But more importantly, you just watched how he went through his rehab and he attacked it in the weight room, attacked it on the mechanical side. He really did a great job of dissecting his game and saying, ‘What can I do better when I come back and be the best version of myself?’”

Skubal’s first start back that summer came eight days after Boyd’s last. Boyd felt a twinge in his elbow in a June start at Texas and underwent Tommy John surgery two days later. It ended his second Tiger tenure, but it started a new phase of their friendship.

Skubal underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017 while in Seattle. It was a big reason why Skubal fell to the ninth round of the 2018 Draft, but also an experience that offered Skubal a chance to pay back what he learned from Boyd.

“He and Casey [Mize] were two guys I really leaned on throughout this rehab process when I was without a team and without a clubhouse with guys to talk to,” Boyd said.

Said Skubal: “The process is tough. Tommy John is a tough surgery to have, just more mentally than physically.”

The first message Skubal sent to Boyd after learning his former teammate was signing with the division rival Guardians was short and sweet.

“Traitor,” Skubal said.

He was kidding.

“Coming back from Tommy John and he signs with a team and gets an opportunity to prove that he’s healthy, and he’s looked great,” Skubal said. “I actually watched a lot of his rehab starts, and texted him after those.”

Boyd did the same as he watched Skubal emerge as an elite pitcher.

“I joked with him after this rehab I was going to throw 100 mph,” Boyd said, “and choosing not to.”

While the Tigers were in the midst of their September charge to a Wild Card spot, Boyd was on his late-season run in the Guardians rotation. His Sept. 11 start against the White Sox was on the televisions in the Tigers clubhouse at Comerica Park. Mize, who was starting for the Tigers that night against the Rockies, was watching every pitch.

“This guy was an anchor on a team that was trying to find its identity, certainly on the pitching side,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said of Boyd. “He was asked to be a huge leader as young pitchers were broken in, learning how to be a big leaguer, learning how to win.

“He was instrumental in pouring some of this foundation. And to a man, everybody loves Matt Boyd.”

He won’t be so loved Monday as he tries to break down the season they’ve put together. But it won’t change their friendship.

“He and his family are special people,” Skubal said. “He means a lot to me. It’ll be fun.”