After thinking bunt, Ortiz crushes 3-run HR to lift Crew

MILWAUKEE -- A bunt is fine in the right spot.

A three-run home run is better.

Brewers rookie third baseman Joey Ortiz was thinking “bunt” at the start of his at-bat in the fifth inning of a tie game on Saturday at American Family Field. After he pushed a first pitch foul he thought better, and two pitches later he lifted a changeup from Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott into the air toward left field for the three-run homer that propelled Milwaukee to a 3-1 win over Cincinnati.

“I’ll be thinking to swing in that situation now,” Ortiz said.

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That one swing was enough to win after opener Jared Koenig and regularly-scheduled starter Bryse Wilson combined for six scoreless innings, followed by six up, six down for Bryan Hudson and Trevor Megill’s 12th save.

As a result, the Brewers will have a chance to secure their eighth consecutive series victory over the Reds if they can capture Sunday’s finale.

“You think about that big moment for a young player. It gives everybody a lift,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I think it’s safe to say that we’re not playing great. We’re not swinging the bats great. We’re not playing as that scrappy underdog team. It doesn’t feel like that; maybe that’s just my perception.

“But in general, all of us, we haven’t been our best selves here the last couple of weeks. So that was big for us.”

“One pitch doesn’t define an outing,” Abbott said. The umpire before that kind of squeezed me on a couple of calls. It put me in a tough situation, but I have to make those pitches. I know that. It’s really unfortunate that it comes to that but it’s a game of baseball. You’re going to have moments like that and it helps you learn for next time.”

Ortiz’s sixth home run of the season was his first since May 17, when he was putting up the big numbers that made him the Brewers’ first NL Rookie of the Month Award winner in four years. It was also his first hit since missing two games last week with a minor hamstring injury.

The 25-year-old has a .281/.381/.472 slash line and ranks 15th among NL position players at 2.2 fWAR. The Brewers got him at a high cost -- they sent former NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to the Orioles with one year of control remaining and received Ortiz and 25-year-old left-hander DL Hall just before Spring Training -- but the return looks promising.

“What’s not to like?” said Wilson. “I feel like when he came over the big thing was his defense, and we’ve seen the defense. I think the Orioles messed up, I’m not going to lie to you. Obviously, they get Corbin, but that’s a generational player right there. He hits and he plays elite defense. It’s awesome to have him behind us.”

Ortiz downplayed the role his bunt attempt had in the pitches that followed. Theoretically, a pitcher might be more willing to pour strikes into the zone if he thinks a hitter is going to bunt. In this instance, Abbott had just walked Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang to turn over the lineup to leadoff man Ortiz.

But that wasn’t Ortiz’s intent.

“At that point in the game I was just trying to get the bunt down,” he said. “I saw the first baseman was back and I was trying to get one down the line for a hit. As far as setting up the rest of the at-bat, I don’t know.

“I tried to get one down, fouled it back, and then just tried to stay back on whatever else he was giving me.”

Ortiz was asked whether he feels as if he’s coming into his own as a Major Leaguer. The timing for that would be right from the Brewers’ perspective, considering what they gave up to acquire him.

“I try not to think about the trade and all that stuff,” Ortiz said. “I just try to do whatever I can to help the team win. That’s all that matters.”