Cubs' Opening Day meltdown from Matthew Boyd tied to WBC curse that also hit Paul Skenes

Mathew Boyd pitched out of the bullpen for Team USA during the 2026 World Baseball Classic but returned to camp with the Chicago Cubs once it became clear he was going to be the team's Opening Day starter. Had Boyd remained with Team USA, there was a chance that his schedule wouldn't have aligned with the Cubs' season opener on Thursday. While Boyd was able to make the start, he may add to a growing World Baseball Classic curse developing across baseball this week.

Boyd allowed a second-inning home run to Washington Nationals outfielder Joey Wiemer, but appeared to be on cruise control through the first three innings of the game. Boyd became undone during the fourth inning, resulting in his final having six runs against him on six hits and one walk.

There's almost surely going to be overreactions to the Cubs' Opening Day loss to the Washington Nationals. Mainly, some are wondering if the Cubs should have added another established starting pitcher to their rotation.

There's no need to over-analyze Boyd's performance on Thursday. It was a stinker, and, unfortunately, it happened on Opening Day. That being said, we may be in the origins of a developing curse.

Odd WBC trend that hit Paul Skenes and Logan Webb may explain Boyd Cubs meltdown

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb was a starter for Team USA, and he had an uncharacteristically bad showing against the New York Yankees on Wednesday night. The Giants' ace was tagged for six runs on seven hits in five innings of work.

If it happens once, sure, someone will jokingly wonder if Webb's inclusion in the World Baseball Classic somehow impacted his performance on Opening Day. Not the most reasonable deduction to make, but it's the type of conversation that is had during the first week of the regular season.

Adding to the conspiracy theory is Paul Skenes' disastrous start for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. The reigning National League Cy Young didn't even make it out of the first inning, giving up five runs on four hits. Setting the potential World Baseball Classic curse to the side, it doesn't help that Oneil Cruz's shaky defense in center field may have been the trigger.

For now, we're chalking this up as nothing more than a coincidence. Maybe there's more that happens when each of these pitchers take their next turn in their respective rotations, but this "curse" can go the way of the rest of the Opening Day overreactions.