And then there was Cubs<\/a> left-hander Matthew Boyd, acting blissfully unaffected by conditions that had a crowd of 25,125 hunkered down in miserable solidarity. Every player on both teams sported a long-sleeve T-shirt under his uniform jersey. Everyone except Boyd.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like, what are we doing here?\u2019\u2019 said his batterymate, Carson Kelly.<\/p>\n But in this battle of man vs. the elements, the man won.<\/p>\n \u201cI know he\u2019s from the Northwest [Mercer Island, Washington], and it seemed to work for him,\u2019\u2019 Kelly said after Boyd struck out 10 and allowed only two hits (both to Angels shortstop Zach Neto) and two runs (one earned) in 5\u2154 innings in the Cubs\u2019 6-2 victory in the rubber match of this three-game series.<\/p>\n But it did beg the question: If Boyd was willing to forgo an extra layer of clothing when the temperature was 39 degrees and the wind chill subtracted another 10 degrees, how cold would it have to be before he opted for a little extra warmth?<\/p>\n \u201cGood question,\u2019\u2019 Kelly said. \u201cHave to ask him. It might have to be in the negative range, and that might not even do it. I wonder what would happen if it\u2019s 90 degrees and he has no undershirt. I guess we\u2019ll have to see.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Boyd, you\u2019ll be relieved to know, had added a long-sleeve shirt to his ensemble after the game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just preference,\u2019\u2019 he said, \u201cno more than that, right?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Boyd said he can recall wearing sleeves only once in his big-league career, when the Tigers opened the season (where else) in Chicago against the White Sox.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t remember how cold it was,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cI think it was below 30, and I wore sleeves. I just thought it was a weird thing. I never really wore much in high school when I was pitching.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Boyd was way off, by the way, in his recollection of how cold it was on the South Side that day. A check of the box score shows it was 48 degrees, with 20 mph-plus winds that matched Wednesday\u2019s North Side howlers.<\/p>\n But if short sleeves can produce these types of results, maybe Boyd should consider wearing Speedos under his uniform. He gave up a single to Neto to lead off the game, then promptly picked him off, his 12th successful pickoff since coming to the Cubs last season. That ranks second in club history to Hippo Vaughn, who has 17 pickoffs, but it took the crafty Hippo nine seasons to reach that number.<\/p>\n Boyd then got 16 of the next 17 Angels out, Neto\u2019s walk in the fourth the only spoiler, striking out four in a row before Craig Counsell lifted him after Neto\u2019s two-out single and a walk to Mike Trout. Jo Adell\u2019s RBI single off Hunter Harvey brought home a run, and an error on a ball that skipped past third baseman Alex Bregman brought home another, but Harvey caught old friend Yoan Moncada looking for an inning-ending strikeout.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was huge,\u2019\u2019 Boyd said. \u201cGetting that final out and then going back out for another inning after that, that was awesome, especially in that weather, you know.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just played really well all around. It was awesome.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n For the record, Boyd is not the first pitcher to brave the cold underdressed. Any Cubs fan with a memory surely can recall others. Shoot, only one night earlier, as Counsell noted, Jose Soriano of the Angels held the Cubs scoreless.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe short sleeves is the way to go,\u2019\u2019 said Counsell, whose team broke even in this season-opening six-game homestead.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, short sleeves didn\u2019t give up too many runs this series.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Third-base coach and accomplished base stealer Berry is \u201cjust trying to make guys feel confident, confident and comfortable.\u2019 So far, Cubs are 7-for-7 stealing bases.<\/p>\n [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone] read<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775200776_665_.jpeg\"\/)
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