Chicago Cubs Dominant Reliever Has Saved Bullpen as Closer Deals With Injury

The Chicago Cubs are one of the hottest teams in baseball having won four of their last five games and seven of their last eight series against an absolutely brutal schedule.

With their latest triumph against the Los Angeles Dodgers for what felt like the 100th time this year, the Cubs took two straight from the defending champs to claim the season series between the two.

It's no secret that the incredible 16-10 start ahead of a weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies has been powered by an incredible performance from the lineup.

Chicago has scored nearly 30 more runs than any other team in baseball and leads the league in virtually every offensive category as a team, absolutely mashing the ball en route to tons of wins.

With that offense however comes a struggling pitching staff that many had questions about entering the offseason. The Cubs have not done much to answer that and sit near the bottom of Major League Baseball in most pitching statistics.

The bullpen in particular is a spot which is seen as a particular weakness and has been an absolute roller coaster ride as Chicago tries to close out games.

Perhaps the biggest example of that has been the struggles of new closer Ryan Pressly, who boasts a solid 2.45 ERA but is striking out hitters at the lowest rate of his career and allowing a significant number of baserunners.

After Wednesday night's victory over the Dodgers — a game which was saved by sudden superstar Porter Hodge with a perfect inning — Craig Counsell revealed Pressly has been dealing with a knee issue and was unavailable to enter the game.

Though it did not sound like a long-term issue for Pressly and he should be back this weekend, the brilliance of Hodge this season should not be discounted either.

Hodge sports an ugly looking 5.68 ERA in 13 appearances, but a huge amount of that came during last Friday's 24-run thriller against the Arizona Diamondbacks where every pitcher was giving up hits and runs.

In the three outings since, Hodge has not even given up a hit let alone a run. Over 12.2 innings this year, Hodge has allowed a total of just 12 hits and eight earned runs with four of those hits and six of those runs coming in the offensive explosion game a week ago.

If Pressly's limitations that he has shown in the early portion of the year don't improve, the Cubs can breathe a sigh of relief and know that Hodge is ready to step into the closer role and potentially even present an upgrade.

The 24-year-old has excelled in his setup role and in an ideal world Pressly will get it together.

Make no mistake though, Hodge has saved this bullpen and just might be the best reliever Chicago has.

Recommended Articles