Chicago Cubs rookie reliever Porter Hodge earned his fifth save of the year by closing out the Los Angeles Dodgers late Tuesday night, and he overcame an apparent heart issue to do so.
Hodge, the 23-year-old closer of the moment for the Cubs, came on in the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium to close out a 6-3 win for the visitors. The save itself was nearly flawless as Hodge issued just one walk over the four batters he faced.
However, with two outs and Hodge facing Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, the closer stepped off the mound as he appeared to be trying to catch his breath. Eventually, Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya, manager Craig Counsell, and team trainers came out to Hodge to assess the situation.
After being checked over for a few minutes, as some in the Dodger Stadium crowd made their displeasure known with audible boos, Hodge was allowed to stay in the game.
Hodge got the final out as Muncy launched a deep fly ball that centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong robbed of a potential home run with a leaping catch at the wall, and the Cubs celebrated their second-straight win over the National League West leaders.
Counsell addressed Hodge's health scare after the game, per MLB.com.
"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," said Counsell. "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.’"
According to the MLB report, Hodge has been tended to for this condition previously and has been medically cleared. However, Counsell said the Cubs may look into further evaluation for the team's young hurler.
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