BALTIMORE -- It’s safe to say that DL Hall had Saturday circled on his calendar. Asked this week how much he was looking forward to pitching against his old team, Hall said the thought had “already been in my head for seven days.” It made him “jittery” with “excitement,” he said. He got a little lost finding the visitor’s clubhouse, and then reunited with countless friends and former teammates.

A former top prospect who appeared in 29 games (one start) for the Orioles before arriving in Milwaukee in the Corbin Burnes deal in February, the 25-year-old Hall came up with almost everyone in Baltimore’s opposing lineup. Which made Saturday the type of assignment that can be difficult for a young player, with Brewers manager Pat Murphy saying Saturday afternoon: “If you let that [stuff] creep in, it makes it a lot tougher.”

“That’s divided attention,” Murphy said. “In my mind, that never helps.”

It is impossible to pinpoint exactly what led to Hall’s struggles once that long-awaited moment came, but he did struggle through the early parts of what turned into an 11-5 comeback win for the Brewers on Saturday at Oriole Park. With wind gusting at more than 20 mph at times and his fastball velocity sitting in the low 90s, Hall was hit hard for five runs across 3 1/3 innings before the Brewers rallied against Dean Kremer.

“I’d say they got the best of me a little bit today,” Hall said. “They’re some of the best players in baseball. You want to face the best and see where you stack up. Today they got me. Hopefully next time I get them.”

If there was ever a good time to ask your offense to pick you up, Hall picked it. The lineup is white-hot; the Brewers tied a franchise record by scoring at least seven runs in their sixth straight game to bail him out. But he still allowed homers to Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle and Jordan Westburg -- all old friends -- in the shortest start of his career.

“I came up with those guys in the Minor Leagues and have a close relationship with all of them,” Hall said. “All of us sharing a big league field is a blessing in itself.”

Murphy called it a learning experience.

“DL did not have his best outing, against a great team,” Murphy said. “I think he put a little too much pressure on himself. But there are a lot of positives, too …

“[The Orioles are] a tremendous offensive team … and they know DL. I look at this as a great game to learn from, and our guys believe in DL, so they scored a bunch of runs for him today. They know he’s young and they want to back him.”

Speaking before the game, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde acknowledged the impact Hall had on the organization before the trade, and wished him well going forward.

“We’re all big DL Hall fans,” Hyde said. “He had some really good moments here the last couple of years. He had some setbacks and some things where he wasn’t with us for a while from an injury standpoint, but there’s been a lot of moments here where he showed how competitive he is. We’re always wishing the best for him after today. I enjoyed my time a lot with DL, and we have a good relationship. He’s a real, real competitor.”