Former Orioles prospect falls flat in brutal NL Wild Card series loss for Brewers

What a rollercoaster of emotions Brewers fans just went through during their NL Wild Card series against the Mets. After getting whacked 8-4 on Tuesday, the Brew Crew fought back with a 5-3 victory on Wednesday to tie the series at one game apiece.

Entering Thursday's do-or-die game 3, Brewers fans were hopeful and packed the house. American Family Field erupted when the Crew hit back to back homers to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 7th, and all signs were pointing toward a Milwaukee victory.

Unfortunately for Brewers fans, closer Devin Williams choked the save by giving up 4 runs in the 9th, including a game-breaking 3-run homer from free agent to be Pete Alonso. The Mets took the game 4-2 and will head to Philly to take on the NL East champs starting Saturday.

One significant point of note for Orioles fans is that former heralded infield prospect Joey Ortiz got his first taste of the MLB postseason, starting all three games for the Brewers. Unfortunately for Ortiz, he went 0-11 with 2 strikeouts in the series, showing up as a complete zero in the box score.

Former Orioles prospect Joey Ortiz stalls in limelight of 2024 MLB playoffs

Ortiz was traded along with reliever DL Hall to Milwaukee this past offseason in the deal that brought Corbin Burnes to Baltimore. Ortiz put up a respectable season, starting 142 games for the Brewers en route to a .239/.329/.398 slash line with 11 homers, 11 steals, and strong defense across the board.

While the future remains bright for Ortiz, failing to get on base even once in his first taste of the playoffs has to sting. He didn't look competitive in nearly any of his at-bats, weakly grounding out several times during the series.

Hall, on the other hand, failed to pitch well in Milwaukee this year and never saw the field in the series against the Mets. Hall posted a 5.02 ERA in 43 innings with career-worst figures in terms of walk and strikeout rates. The former Oriole was sharp in the final month of the season but all told, it's a disappointing year for the 26 year old.

Hall still has two years of team control until he becomes arbitration eligible but it wouldn't be surprising to see him lose his roster spot if he doesn't come into spring training looking sharp.