Porter Hodge OK after scary moment on the hill

At one point, while trying to get Max Muncy ready for the final out of yesterday's game, Cubs relief pitcher Porter Hodge asked for time, turned away from home plate, rubbed his chest and started taking deep breaths. As you can see in the video, he was obviously struggling with something and needed the athletic trainer and Craig Counsell to come out. It was scary.

Fortunately, after a little rest, a chat with the athletic trainer, and enduring some extremely classy boos from the biggest idiots in attendance, Hodge was able to return to the mound and finish the game (thanks to Pete Crow-Armstrong's incredible game-ending catch). He was fine.

Still, you should always be concerned if a player shows signs of a problem in the heart or lung area until you know what the heck happened.

It turned out that it was pretty much what it seemed: Hodges' heart started racing and he was having trouble calming it down.

“We noticed he was super fast, and then his heart started racing, so much so that he got a little worried,” Craig Counsell said after the game, according to Cubs.com. “He said that had happened to him before, and it would go away and nothing would happen. So it lasted a couple of minutes, but then it went away and he said, 'I'm ready.'”

Although Hodge has been previously investigated and cleared for this issue, Counsell reportedly hinted that the Cubs may have another investigation done. You can't be too careful with something like this.

So the good news is that Hodge was finally OK last night. What happens next is a little more up in the air, but hopefully it's not something that will take him out of the team before the end of the season, or more importantly, hopefully it's not something that will require further medical attention.