Long time coming: Matthew Boyd celebrates 10-year milestone with a win — and Chicago Cubs fete 2016 champions

Saturday was a special day for various members of the Chicago Cubs, and 10 years seemed to be the magic word. Yes, the franchise honored the 10-year anniversary of the 2016 World Series championship team with a pregame ceremony that included the unveiling of the Champions Gate at Gallagher Way. But Saturday’s starter, Matthew Boyd, had a 10-year celebration of his own: He reached 10 years of service time in the Cubs’ 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field. “I think it’s not easy to play for the game this long,” Ian Happ told the Tribune after the win. “It’s a special accomplishment, it really is.” After Boyd tossed six innings of one-run ball in the win, the Cubs made sure to acknowledge the achievement. Boyd received a bottle of Ace of Spades champagne in the clubhouse, and the milestone was written on the box. “It’s kind of a tradition here — I’m sure it is in other clubhouses too — but I know that my (major-league) debut, Jonny Lester gave me one,” Happ said. “It’s just cool to acknowledge the accomplishments guys have in the game. It’s not easy to get to 10 years, and even though we have five guys doing it this year, it’s really special.” Boyd joined right-hander Jameson Taillon (May 25) and third baseman Alex Bregman (July 4) as Cubs to reach the mark this season. Dansby Swanson (July 27) and Michael Conforto (July 31) are on track to hit 10 years this month. The left-hander’s performance was just as crucial to his team as the personal achievement. The Cubs have 12 pitchers on the injured list, and Boyd, in his fifth start since returning from left meniscus surgery, gave the staff a boost. Boyd’s quality start was just the seventh by a Cubs starter in 38 games since the calendar flipped to June. Two of those have come from right-handers Taillon and Ben Brown, who are on the injured list. The Cubs open their post-All-Star Game slate with 23 games in 24 days, and the combination of injuries and the schedule means Boyd’s outing Saturday carries more weight. The trade deadline falls near the end of the 23-game stretch, and while the Cubs will be trying to add pitching before Aug. 3, many of those moves won’t come until closer to that date. Sure, there will be minor additions, such as the one they pulled off after the game. The team traded for right-hander Aaron Civale and cash considerations from the Athletics for minor-league right-hander Aiden Moffett. Civale, 31, posted a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings across five games for the Cubs last season and tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings in the NL Division Series Game 1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs, though, will need the internal options, such as Boyd, to help buoy the pitching staff. “It’s something that we’re going to need here moving forward,” Counsell said after the game. “We got a lot of baseball ahead of us, and that means everybody’s going to have to contribute. When you get your starter into the sixth, it’s going to help you the next day, it’s going to help you in two days. “There’s a carryover effect to who you’re having to get up and how many relievers you’re having to use.” The Cubs benefitted from some key contributions on defense and at the plate too. Michael Busch clubbed a first-inning, solo home run to Anthony Rizzo — the face of the franchise and his counterpart on the 2016 squad — who was seated in the right-field bleachers along with his teammates from that championship team. “I didn’t know, and then (catcher Miguel) Amaya actually told me, ‘Rizzo caught your ball,’” Busch said. “He caught one last year (Moisés Ballesteros’ first career home run on Sept. 13). He dropped it, though. That was pretty cool.” Nico Hoerner, who was hitting .201 in his previous 58 games entering Saturday, went 4-for-4 with an RBI in the win too. The defense did their best to pay homage to the 2016 club, which was the best in baseball in outs above average and defensive runs saved that season. Busch made a catch in foul territory down the first-base line along the tarp to end the fifth inning, a play reminiscent of the one Rizzo made a decade ago, standing on the tarp to record an out. In the ninth, Twins third baseman Brooks Lee hit a line drive to center field that caromed off the glove of Pete Crow-Armstrong. Crow-Armstrong rifled it to Hoerner beyond the infield, and he threw it home. Amaya, the catcher, then threw it to third baseman Bregman to nab Josh Bell, who had taken a big turn. Bregman threw it to Busch at first to pick up a second out and stymie the Twins’ threat. “I think they made a mistake, I wouldn’t credit our defense too much there,” Counsell said. “But we did get the ball to the right bases and made good throws, eventually. Look, it was a big play. The tying run’s at the plate.” That was the cherry on top of a day in which 10 years was the theme. “I remember being there for (Justin) Verlander and various guys with the (Detroit) Tigers, and you’re sitting there going, ‘Wow, that’s an amazing accomplishment,’” Boyd said. “You hope and you believe it will be you at some point, but there’s plenty of points where you’re like, ‘I don’t know if this will happen.’ “But to get to share it with five guys in the same clubhouse is so unique and so special. … It’s fun to share it with them because we’ve all had different career paths to get to this point, and it’s unique and great in that.” Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.