Joey Ortiz steps into the spotlight, flashes his potential in Brewers' extra-innings win

The promise has been evident – a strong defensive play here, a timely hit there.

But not until Friday night had Joey Ortiz put it all together.

The young infielder homered, drove in four runs and, most important, delivered the winning hit in the 11th inning to push the Milwaukee Brewers past the New York Yankees, 7-6, at American Family Field.

"He was definitely a standout tonight," said manager Pat Murphy, whose team improved to 17-8 to remain a half-game ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central Division standings.

The Brewers are also 7-1 now in one-run games, best in the major leagues.

BOX SCORE: Brewers 7, Yankees 6 (11 innings)

Batting eighth and playing third base, Ortiz smoked his homer off Luis Gil in the second inning 407 feet out to left field at 107.9 mph. The two-run shot snapped an 0-for-12 skid for Ortiz and was the second of five long balls hit in the game.

"Rickie (Weeks) and I were talking in the dugout right before he hit his homer," Murphy said. "We said, 'You know what? This kid's due.'"

As a bonus, the ball caromed back onto the field, leaving Ortiz with his first major-league homer sans any post-game negotiations with a fan. Already perched in a case and authenticated, the ball sat on a shelf in Ortiz's locker as he addressed the media postgame.

"I guess the ball bounced back," Ortiz said. "I had no idea because I kind of blacked out when I hit it."

Ortiz's third plate appearance, in the sixth, tied the game at 5-5 as he was able to get a fly ball to center field deep enough to allow Gary Sánchez to tag from third and lumber home.

The game remained deadlocked into the 11th when Ortiz again stepped to the plate with a chance to send the fans home happy.

And that he did, as he turned on a Michael Tonkin sinker on the inside corner and pulled it at 109.4 mph to the left of Yankees third baseman Jahmai Jones and into left.

That allowed Owen Miller to score the game winner and sparked a mad celebration on the infield, with Ortiz getting his jersey and undershirt completely ripped off in the aftermath.

"It was nice," Ortiz said of the moment. "I was just excited to help the team when it really mattered. Hit something hard, put the barrel on the ball and just put it in play and make things happen."

Ortiz was one of two players the Brewers acquired from the Baltimore Orioles on Feb. 1 in exchange for Corbin Burnes (Milwaukee also received a 2024 draft pick) but it's been the other -- left-hander DL Hall -- who's received the lion's share of the attention since.

Ortiz, meanwhile, has mostly sailed under the radar. In 23 games he's hitting .264 with the homer and seven runs batted in and has seen the bulk of his time in the field at third base, a position that he seldom played while advancing through the minor leagues.

He's had a tendency to short-hop throws to first base but overall has acquitted himself well.

"He's emerged into an every day player," Murphy said. "The defense has been spectacular and he's shown flashes of being a great offensive player. He hits the ball hard."

Brice Turang was the unsung hero

Ortiz might not have been in position to win the game had it not been for a terrific at-bat ahead of him in the 11th by Turang.

Already with two singles and a walk to his credit, Turang stepped in and quickly squared around to bunt only to foul each of Tonkin's offerings off.

He saw six more pitches from there before eventually lifting a ball deep enough to right field that Miller was able to tag and advance to third.

"That was a fighter at-bat," Ortiz said. "That was a great at-bat to be able to get the guy to third base and make it an easier situation for me to be able to bring the runner in."

Turang also had a couple standout defensive plays, including one to end the top of the 11th when he ranged up the middle to glove a ground ball by Oswaldo Cabrera and then flipped the ball on the move to Willy Adames.

Adames, cutting to second base from shortstop, gloved it and stepped on the base to keep New York off the board.

Throw in another stolen base and a run scored, and Turang once again made his mark felt in what's been a resurgent sophomore campaign for the Brewers' second baseman.

He's now hitting .329, sports an .856 OPS and has stolen 13 bases. Turang has now successfully stolen 30 straight bases dating to last season (last July 15-current), which is the longest current streak in baseball as well as the longest in franchise history.

"He's banged up," Murphy said. "He needs a break, for sure. It shows you who he is. This kid is special. Stealing bags, playing defense and getting hits. He's just such a threat.

"He's been an elite-level player these first games. Hopefully he can maintain it."

Once again, Colin Rea bent but didn't break

The way the early innings went, it appeared as though starter Colin Rea would be hitting the showers early.

He allowed solo homers to Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo in the first and second innings, and then a three-run shot to Trent Grisham with two outs in the third that gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead.

But from that point on the right-hander settled down to retire the final seven batters he faced, on a total of 15 pitches.

That gave him his second six-inning start of the season, with the six being the best number Rea probably could have provided considering how taxed the bullpen has been considering all the injuries the rotation has already suffered (Hall, Wade Miley and Jakob Junis -- all members of the opening-day starting five -- are on the injured list).

"We kind of started mixing in the changeup a little bit and getting stuff going away to lefties," Rea said when asked how he was able to turn the momentum over his final two frames. "That's a pitch that's feeling pretty good for me and definitely a pitch I can start to use a little bit more."

It hasn't always been pretty, but to this point Rea has tied Freddy Peralta for the team lead in starts with five and ranks just behind him in innings with 27 ⅔.

"That's who he's become," Murphy said. "He's dependable. He's a force that's really underrated."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Joey Ortiz steps into the spotlight, flashes his potential