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JOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Goldeyes starting pitcher Luke Boyd improved to 8-3 with a victory over the Chicago Dogs at Blue Cross Park on Tuesday, and put on a good show for his mother and brother.<\/p>\n
Watkins managed Boyd in Cleburne in 2023 before taking the job in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
Boyd, however, didn\u2019t exactly jump at the opportunity to reunite initially. Fourteen months later, he\u2019s thrilled that he warmed up to the idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cLogan said they had some injuries early so they needed a guy. I still wasn\u2019t sure because Winnipeg was the only place I had never visited in this league,\u201d admitted the 28-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut since I knew Logan and love playing for him, I decided to give it a shot and I absolutely fell in love with the city, the fans, the stadium \u2014 it\u2019s been a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a really great time recently.<\/p>\n
The Fish hosted the Chicago Dogs for a doubleheader at the downtown Winnipeg ballpark on Tuesday and Boyd led the home team to a 4-1 victory in Game 1.<\/p>\n
He gave up one run and six hits in seven innings (doubleheader games are shortened to seven) while striking out four batters to improve to 8-3 on the year.<\/p>\n
Boyd is fresh off being named the American Association\u2019s Pitcher of the Week after tossing eight innings and striking out eight in a 3-1 win in Kansas City last Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Goldeyes were riding an eight-game winning streak heading into Tuesday \u2014 their longest in a decade.<\/p>\n
The streak grew to 10 as they also took care of business in Game 2 with a 7-4 result.<\/p>\n
The Fish moved into second place in the West Division at 37-31. The Dogs dropped to 21-48 which is the worst mark in the 12-team loop.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext level is always nice, but I\u2019m definitely bought in and trying to win for the Winnipeg Goldeyes,\u201d said Boyd, who was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 17th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no place I\u2019d rather be, honestly. I\u2019m loving it here.\u201d<\/p>\n
To make his outing even sweeter, his mother and brother were in attendance as they made the trip up north from the family\u2019s hometown of Ojai, Calif.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the first time they\u2019ve been out here, so it\u2019s pretty exciting to have given them a little bit of a good show,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last time I closed out a game was in college, and that\u2019s because I was a closer, so it\u2019s been a while since I finished the last inning of a game \u2014 even though it was a seven-inning game.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that was a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Goldeyes signed Boyd on May 28 last season. In 17 starts, he posted a 5-10 record with a 4.53 ERA in a year where the club missed the post-season at 41-59.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t JOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Goldeyes outfielder Noah Marcelo misses the catch and takes the bounce off the wall during Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Chicago Dogs at Blue Cross Park on Tuesday. <\/p>\n This season, Boyd\u2019s ERA of 4.06 is ranked in the league\u2019s Top 10.<\/p>\n \u201cPersonally, I\u2019m just a little more comfortable. It\u2019s my second year, and I\u2019m comfortable with the clubhouse and everyone on the team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year coming in early in the season, but still coming in after spring training and the first few weeks, I was timid and feeling my way around the clubhouse. But now, I feel like I kind of set the energy on some days. When I\u2019m not pitching, my job is to be a good teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n Things didn\u2019t look overly promising for Winnipeg just past the midway point of the 100-game marathon.<\/p>\n The Goldeyes resided in the fourth and final playoff spot out of the West but were playing some rather unspiring baseball at 27-31.<\/p>\n A lot has changed in the last two weeks.<\/p>\n During their recent hot streak, they\u2019ve been averaging over six runs per game and have outscored the opposition 66-38.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew we were always capable of playing good ball, just sometimes the chips didn\u2019t fall our way. But we never lost faith,\u201d said Boyd.<\/p>\n \u201cLogan is doing a pretty good job of putting a good product out there on the baseball field and we\u2019re just trying to do our jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t In 2025, the Goldeyes went 10-24 in one-run games. This season, they\u2019re 8-7 while also playing especially well at Blue Cross Park with a 23-13 home record.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no questiion that we\u2019re playing some good ball right now so I\u2019m just trying to keep things rolling,\u201d said Boyd.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very, very, very fun to be a part of this winning streak.\u201d<\/p>\n The four-game series with Chicago continues tonight at 6:30 p.m. The series wraps up on Thursday with first pitch set for the same time.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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