Ortiz helps his own All-Star case with go-ahead homer

MILWAUKEE – The Brewers aren’t above a little negative advertising if it helps rookie third baseman Joey Ortiz win a spot in next month’s All-Star Game.

So, instead of merely stating Ortiz’s case and encouraging fans to vote between innings of Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the Rangers – when Ortiz’s tie-breaking home run in the fifth was the difference – the Brewers went after the player ahead of him in the most recent round of balloting results.

After all, there’s no surer way to generate boos at American Family Field than to show 2018 NLCS villain Manny Machado on the scoreboard.

Sure enough, when Machado’s image appeared, boos followed. When it switched to Ortiz, there were cheers, then more cheers when Ortiz smacked a solo homer in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie for Brewers “starter” Bryse Wilson, who worked six scoreless innings behind opener Hoby Milner and picked up the win.

“I saw it when they were posting it on the big screen but I’m trying not to think about it too much,” said Ortiz, who is just as in the thick of the NL Rookie of the Year conversation as he is in the All-Star debate. “I just want to play the game and let it happen.”

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It was Ortiz’s seventh home run to go with a .278/.383/.459 slash line. His 2.5 fWAR leads all Major League rookies and ranks second among NL third basemen to the current All-Star Game balloting leader, Alec Bohm of the Phillies. Machado is 14th at 0.4 fWAR, but his star power has the six-time All-Star outpacing Ortiz in votes – 545,259 for Machado to 486,267 for Ortiz in the tightest race in the NL as of the most recent update.

Here’s how the voting works: During the initial voting period through Thursday at 11 a.m. CT, fans can submit up to five ballots each day that voting is open on MLB platforms. On Thursday, the top two vote-getters at each position (and the top six outfielders) in each league will be revealed on MLB Network, and they will advance to the second phase of voting to determine who makes the All-Star teams and starts for each league.

At the start of Spring Training, Ortiz wasn’t even in the third base picture for the Brewers, who traded Corbin Burnes to the Orioles for Ortiz, left-hander DL Hall and a Draft pick just before the start of camp. But he won a spot on the Opening Day roster and picked up occasional at-bats in a timeshare with Oliver Dunn. In time, Ortiz won the job outright, and that’s made all the difference.

After posting a respectable .791 OPS in March and April, Ortiz jumped it to .978 in May and became the first Brewers player in five years to win NL Rookie of the Month honors.

“I’ve said it before, it kind of brings a comfortability,” Ortiz said. “It helps me get locked in, seeing my name in the lineup every day. I know what I’m capable of doing, and being ready for the game. All of that stuff comes into play when you’re playing every day.”

He's earned that opportunity.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I didn’t know much about the player. … When he got over here, immediately you could see his hands worked. We didn’t know that because he had never really hit in the big leagues. I mean, he hasn’t been a total surprise because we had good reports. But he’s been well beyond. He’s been great.”

So was the Brewers pitching on Tuesday, with solid work from Milner (two innings), Wilson (six scoreless innings on three hits and no walks) and Elvis Peguero (second save) on a night some of the team’s top relievers were unavailable.

Asked where it ranked among his outings this season, Wilson said, “It’s pretty high up there.”

A couple of weeks ago, Wilson found himself trending in Orioles social media circles after some especially effusive comments about Ortiz, calling him a “generational player” and offering his unvarnished view of who won the Brewers-Orioles trade.

This time, Wilson opted to keep it simple.

“He’s a great player,” Wilson said. “And I’m glad he’s on my team.”