CHICAGO — As Daniel Palencia prepared to take his first step out of the left field bullpen doors before the ninth inning on Wednesday night, Daddy Yankee’s reggaeton classic “Gasolina” began to blare over the Wrigley Field speakers.

Then, the lights went out right when Palencia stepped onto the warning track, and the 36,327 fans in attendance got rowdy.

As the Cubs’ closer ran towards the mound, the lights began flashing to the beat of the song, creating an electrifying atmosphere in a ballpark that can routinely produce one-of-a-kind environments.

Palencia picked up the save in the 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, and the outing – the entrance, the performance and the result – exemplifies his development as a major-league closer.

Closer walkout songs aren’t new – Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera used Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” in New York – but the shutdown, ninth-inning guys nowadays are having grandiose productions in their home stadiums.

Count Palencia in that group.

Palencia saw the production that the Philadelphia Phillies had done for their closer, Jhoan Duran, whom they acquired at the trade deadline. His entrance starts with a bell tolling, then a mix of two songs – Farruko’s “El Incomprendido” and “Hot” by Pitbull and Daddy Yankee – plays while the lights flicker to the beat of the song and the videoboards display flames representing the fireballer.

“I saw Jhoan Duran’s entrance in Philadelphia, and I was kind of saying, well, ‘Why not me?’” Palencia said. “It was sort of an idea I just had.”

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So, Palencia approached the Cubs media relations staff to expand on his entrance. Earlier in the season, Palencia had entered to “Gasolina”, and the videoboard played a video of him walking down a tunnel.

On Wednesday, the production was elevated, much to the joy of Cubs fans.

“Savage,” Palencia said of the production. “Honestly, an incredible experience. It was a dream come true that I didn’t even know I had. Honestly, this was super good.”

The Cubs right-hander, who started the year in the minor leagues, has gone from a flamethrower with plenty of question marks to a bona fide closer – Wednesday’s save, his 18th of the season, showed that.

It was far from clean or pretty.

Palencia entered the game with a two-run lead and struck out two of the first three batters he faced, a Brice Turang single the only blemish to start the appearance.

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But things became dicey after that. He allowed an RBI single that deflected off the glove of Matt Shaw at third base to make it a one-run game, and then ran into even more trouble.

He walked Sal Frelick on a full count, but the first pitch of the plate appearance was clearly in the zone but called a ball. He tried to remain calm, even though the go-ahead run had reached base.

“You don’t let the game accelerate in that moment,” Palencia said. “I think that it was a playoff-like feeling. It felt good to be in that situation, even though it’s a complicated situation. I tried to talk to myself and slow down the game.”

But he ran into more trouble, walking Isaac Collins to load the bases with William Contreras due up. That prompted catcher Carson Kelly and Dansby Swanson to come out for a mound visit.

“My message was, ‘You’re built for this moment. You’ve been in this situation before, you’ve gotten the job done, trust yourself, get back in the zone,’” Kelly said.

The pep talk worked. Palencia pumped consecutive fastballs low in the zone for called strikes to take control of the at-bat. Then, he threw a 100.5-mph fastball that Contreras hit at 94.9 mph on a line right at second baseman Nico Hoerner for the final out.

Palencia let out a cheer, knowing the importance of the win that gave the Cubs the season series over the Brewers and keeps them alive in the National League Central hunt.

“We talk about what being a closer is and how you have to keep making pitches no matter what’s going on,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “And some things can go the wrong way for you, but you still gotta keep making pitches.

“And Daniel did enough today. He just kept making pitches and got ahead of Contreras. Obviously, Contreras hit a ball hard, and we had some batted ball luck there.”

It highlights his growth as the closer, something he’s more than eager to do as the season winds down and the games become just as intense as Wednesday’s.

“Keep doing the same thing, having confidence, talking to myself and staying in the day-to-day,” Palencia said. “It’s not always going to be easy – sometimes it will be – but it’s a case of learning every day.”