Jonathon Niese Left Game with Rapid Heartbeat

When Jonathon Niese was removed from Sunday night’s game against the Cardinals after six scoreless innings, it was assumed it was because his pitch count was nearing the dreaded 100 mark. Well, no, it was because Niese was experiencing a rapid heartbeat.

It started in the fourth inning after he ran the bases.

“It’s just one of those things that the heart starts racing and things get exciting and it just won’t slow down,” Niese said after the game.

A similar thing happened last June during  a game against the Rangers. Niese was fitted with a Holter monitor for 24 hours and had an EKG done, and no problems were detected.

“I did tests last time and everything came out normal. I’m sure that’s how this will end up,” he said. “I’ve never had an issue since (last June)… But if it comes up, you have to say something.”

Terry Collins noticed something was wrong in the fifth inning and came out to check on his pitcher.

“He went back out on the mound, started the inning, and we were watching him real close,” Collins told reporters. “I’m sure you guys saw he started walking around the mound a couple of times, and I said, ‘Uhh, I don’t like the looks of that,’ so I went out to just see if he was OK. And he was.”

Niese will undergo further testing on Monday, but he’s not too concerned.

“I know it’s not an issue,” Niese said. “It’s not something that hinders my performance. I don’t feel any pain. It’s just one of those things, it’s kind of like a huge adrenaline rush. It’s one of things where your heart just races.”