Chicago Cubs closer Porter Hodge pitched through an elevated heart rate on Tuesday night as he earned a save against the Los Angeles Dodgers, manager Craig Counsell said.
On the mound to start the ninth inning of the 6-3 game, Porter got two outs before walking the Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas, who wound up taking both second and third bases due to catcher’s indifference. With Max Muncy at bat, Hodge stepped off the mound, rubbed his chest and took a knee as he talked to the trainer.
“We noticed he was just going super fast, and then at some point, his heart was racing, and just to the point where he was concerned a little bit,” Counsell said, according to MLB.com. “He said it had happened to him before, and it would go away, and nothing would be of it. So it took him a couple minutes, but it went away, and he said, ‘I’m good to go.’”
Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong robbed Muncy of a home run for the last out, with Hodge, 23, earning his fifth save.
Counsell said it was possible Hodge could undergo testing for the condition.
Hodge, a 13th-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, made his major league debut on May 22. He is 3-1 with a 1.66 ERA in 34 games. He has given up eight runs (seven earned) in 38 innings.