Cubs place relief pitcher Porter Hodge on IL after rough outing in Minnesota

The Cubs put reliever Porter Hodge on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement the day after he gave up 3 homers and 6 earned runs in the eighth inning of an 8-1 loss at Minnesota on Tuesday.

Hodge came back from the injured list on June 24. Right-hander Ethan Roberts was called up from Triple-A Iowa.

“After just talking to Porter, kind of digging into some of our stuff we track, we don't think he's 100% right,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters before Wednesday's game against the Twins. “I don't think this is a big injury.

“We don't think it's the right time for Porter to try to push through. So we're going to take a little break here and do some strengthening. I don't anticipate him being down long, I don't really anticipate him to stop throwing. He should be throwing in New York again this weekend), and then we'll ramp back up.”

Tuesday was Hodge's fifth appearance since returning from his previous trip to the injured list, for an oblique strain and hip impingement. In the first four, Hodge allowed just 1 run, on a solo homer against Houston.

“It's been a little tough finding a rhythm and getting back to how I was pre-injury,” Hodge said after Tuesday's game. “I think we need to go a little internal to see what's making me not so sharp. Physically (I feel) good, everything feels great. So it's something mechanical that's probably going on that we're not really aware of.”

Hodge's fastball velocity is down slightly. He averaged 94.8 mph against Minnesota, compared to 95.8 over the full season.

“That's why we're pressing stop,” Counsell said. “The goal now is to strengthen the shoulder and see if that brings those things back.”

With Tuesday's loss, the Cubs have dropped their last three games at Target Field by a combined score of 35-5, including two lopsided defeats from 2023.

Roberts pitched in nine games for the Cubs earlier this season, posting a 5.40 ERA. He had a 2.74 ERA for Iowa.