Nico Hoerner is speaking out with regret after a heated moment during the Chicago Cubs' 12-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, admitting he wishes he had done more to defend his teammate.

The incident unfolded in the third inning. With Hoerner at the plate and Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya advancing to second base after a wild pitch from Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki, cameras caught Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing making an offensive remark. Hoerner later confirmed that Rushing had called Amaya a "fat f——".

Appearing on the Spiegel and Holmes Show, the 28-year-old second baseman said he was "pretty taken aback" by the comment. "I wish that I had confronted him," Hoerner admitted, per Talkin' Baseball. "At the end of the day, you just wanna have your teammates' back."

Hoerner was quick to clarify that he wasn't suggesting a physical altercation was necessary. His regret was more about the missed opportunity to stand up for Amaya in the moment. Still in the middle of his at-bat, his initial reaction was surprise rather than confrontation—a split-second choice that now weighs on him.

This isn't the first time Rushing has found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. The Dodgers catcher has been involved in several tense moments during recent series. He previously questioned whether the Colorado Rockies were doing something "fishy" on the mound, though manager Dave Roberts dismissed that notion, pointing instead to poor pitch execution by his own team.

Rushing also had a run-in with the San Francisco Giants after a play at the plate involving Jung Hoo Lee. Later, he was hit by a pitch from Logan Webb and made a hard slide into Willy Adames, adding fuel to an already simmering rivalry.

For Hoerner, the regret is a reminder of the unwritten code that binds teammates together. In the heat of a game, sometimes the most important play isn't the one at the plate—it's the one that shows you've got each other's backs.