MILWAUKEE -- When left-hander Matthew Boyd takes the mound on Saturday afternoon in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the rival Brewers, the Cubs will be asking him to do something he hasn’t all season.

Boyd, who tossed 58 pitches across 4 1/3 innings on Tuesday in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series, will be pitching on short rest. Because of that, manager Craig Counsell wanted Boyd to throw during Friday’s workout and make sure he was OK afterwards before announcing his starter.

“He's going on three days, he's going on a small number of pitches,” Counsell said. “We wouldn't make this decision, this would not be a decision on a six-inning start or a 90-pitch start. We would not be considering this. But, yeah, I think he had his head on it, probably when he got in the

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