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.¡±