CHICAGO _ Detroit Tigers left-handed pitcher Matt Boyd didn't make excuses about his poor performance in his first start of the regular season.
Boyd won the fifth spot in the starting rotation by showing outstanding command this spring. After giving up one walk over 25 2/3 innings in the Grapefruit League, Boyd walked Chicago White Sox leadoff batter Tyler Saladino on Thursday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.
Boyd continued to struggle from there. He allowed five runs on five hits and four walks over 2 1/3 innings in the Tigers' 11-2 loss to the White Sox. He struck out two.
"Kind of got away from what was working in the spring a little bit," Boyd said, who allowed six runs in seven spring outings. "Know what I need to do. Just gotta get back to that."
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Boyd's breaking balls were flat and he didn't have his fastball command.
"It looked like he was having trouble with his command and in spring training he seemed to command the ball extremely well," Ausmus said. "Can't do anything about it now. We'll come back in five days and hope he's back to where he was."
Boyd said his performance had nothing to do with the environment _ a couple thousand people showed up _ or the cold weather or from having his scheduled start moved up after Jordan Zimmermann came down with food poisoning Monday.
"You should be able to show up to the park and still be the same guy," Boyd said. "That had nothing to do with how I performed today."
Boyd said it was simply of trying to be too fine with what he threw.
"I need to get back in the zone," Boyd said. "Just attack. And just kind of stay within my delivery."
Boyd threw 80 pitches, 47 for strikes.
"It's real disappointing," Boyd said. "Let the team down in a situation like this. But if there's a silver lining, I know what I need to do next time out. That's why I plan on going out and doing it."
Boyd also owned his throwing error on a safety squeeze that allowed the White Sox to score the first of two runs in the second inning.
"I just rushed it," Boyd said. "Had an opportunity to get him there and just rushed it. Had probably a half a second more to make a better throw than what I did."
Boyd said pitchers have to deal with the cold weather conditions. "If I'm ahead more, it gives me a little more options to do stuff," Boyd said.
Boyd allowed a three-run home run to Geovany Soto in the third inning and was replaced by Anibal Sanchez, who also allowed five runs.
"You're not going to feel great every time out there, right?" Boyd said. "The second you get off your line you try to get back to it as fast as you can. Today was just constantly making adjustments and didn't make the right one.
"My arm slot was kind of dragging, getting a little low and that was causing stuff to sweep. I was aware of it, I just couldn't make the right adjustment. Just didn't do it fast enough. Like the pitch to Soto. If I'm on type of it, it's the result I want. But instead it sweeps across and you give him a chance when that happens."
Boyd is 0-3 with a 7.00 ERA in four career starts at Guaranteed Rate Field. He has a 6.52 ERA in five career appearances against the White Sox.
