CHICAGO — Joey Ortiz, who has provided the Brewers terrific defense at shortstop all season and lately some offense, too, left Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Cubs at Wrigley Field after fouling a pitch off his right knee in the seventh inning.
X-rays were negative but Ortiz has a bone bruise, manager Pat Murphy said, and he was getting treatment after the Brewers dropped both games, 6-4 in the opener and 4-1 in the nightcap. On top of that, Ortiz has been dealing with “some gastrointestinal stuff,” Murphy said, and so he was not expected to start Wednesday’s game.
Ortiz ultimately singled in that at-bat, but was hobbled when he reached first base and drew a visit from an athletic trainer and Murphy. He remained in the game, but was replaced at shortstop by Andruw Monasterio in the bottom of the seventh.
“It’s pretty painful,” Murphy said.
The Brewers spent Spring Training deciding between Ortiz and Brice Turang as the replacement for departed shortstop Willy Adames and ultimately went with Ortiz, who ranks fifth among Major League shortstops in Statcast’s fielding run value metric. After a slow start at the plate he’s come around offensively, hitting .291 with five homers over his last 53 games.
