Brewers remaining cautious with Joey Ortiz as they prepare for NL Division Series

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Joey Ortiz believes he’s healthy enough to play in Milwaukee’s NL Division Series opener Saturday, but the Brewers are remaining careful with the 28-year-old infielder who underwent an MRI on his right knee last weekend.

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy limited Ortiz’s participation in a Tuesday afternoon workout as the Brewers prepare to face the winner of the NL Wild Card Series between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. Ortiz left Milwaukee’s Friday night victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the eighth inning and didn’t play in the Brewers’ final two regular-season games.

“His knee, his abdomen, there’s still concern,” Murphy said Tuesday. “He won’t tell you about it.”

Murphy had indicated Saturday that Ortiz’s MRI results turned out well. Ortiz hurt his right knee while trying to make a play on a foul ball Thursday in Philadelphia.

“It’s all good,” Ortiz said Sunday regarding his health. “We’re good.”

Ortiz then went into a little more detail regarding his preparation to make sure he’s healthy as possible for the start of Milwaukee’s playoff run.

“The goal is to make sure that I’m ready to play and compete at 100% during the postseason,” Ortiz said. “That’s going to be the goal. At this point in the season, everyone’s dealing with something. So you’ve just got to stay on top of it and just make sure you can play.”

Ortiz, who alternates between third base and shortstop, is primarily known for his exceptional defense. But he also emerged as one of the Brewers’ hottest hitters late in the season while bouncing back from a miserable start at the plate.

He was hitting .188 with a .518 OPS at the end of May, but recovered to finish the regular season with a .270 batting average, .328 on-base percentage, .402 slugging percentage, nine homers and 47 RBIs in 134 games.

Over his last 61 games, Ortiz batted .333 with a .378 on-base percentage, .531 slugging percentage, seven homers and 28 RBIs.

He’s eager to help the Brewers chase their first World Series title in franchise history. The Brewers won a franchise-record 103 games this season to earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

“The biggest reason for optimism for our ballclub is we know how to win,” Ortiz said. “I think our competitive level is extremely high and we want to win every ballgame. It doesn’t matter what the score is at any point, we always feel like we can win. I think we’re going to make a great run and win the World Series.”

In other Brewers news, Murphy essentially confirmed the obvious by saying he likely would start Jacob Misiorowski in Game 1 and Logan Henderson in Game 2 of the NLDS, though he immediately backtracked on that remark. Misiorowski (16-5) posted a 1.80 ERA and struck out 252 batters during the regular season to lead the major leagues in both categories. Henderson went 11-3 with a 2.47 ERA in his rookie season.

“It’s obvious they’re our two top starters right now, so it will probably be the way that we go,” Murphy said. “Subject to change, you never know how things will go.”

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