Cubs closer Porter Hodge has heartbreak, but gets rescue

Chicago Cubs closer Porter Hodge saved the game against the Dodgers (6-3) on Tuesday night, but it wasn’t without a few struggles, some of which were worrying.

With two outs in the ninth and Max Muncy at the plate, Hodge stepped off the rubber and walked around the mound. Catcher Miguel Amaya, manager Craig Counsell, the athletic trainer and teammates met him.

Hodge, a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher who has five saves since taking over the closing duties at the end of the season, appeared to rub his chest before getting down on one knee as the coach spoke to him.

“We noticed he was just going super fast, and at one point his heart started racing, and just at the point where he was a little worried,” Counsell said, according to MLB.com. “He said it had happened to him before, and it would pass, and it would be okay. So it lasted a couple minutes, but it passed, and he said, ‘I’m good to go.’”

Hodge set up Muncy to hit a fly ball that nearly left the field for a two-run home run, but center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong jumped and retrieved the ball, ending the game.

Counsell then said the team is considering further testing of Hodge, who has been cleared to pitch after experiencing an elevated heart rate in the past.