Russ Ortiz

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Russ Ortiz bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Russ Ortiz : biography

June 5, 1974 –

Russell Reid Ortiz (born June 5, 1974) is a retired Major League baseball pitcher. Ortiz played for the Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers. He is tall, and weighs 220 pounds.

Professional career

San Francisco Giants (1998–2002)

The right-hander was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 4th round of the June 1995 Major League Baseball Draft. He was drafted as a closer, but converted to the starting rotation while in the Giants’ farm system. On April 2, , Ortiz made his major league debut in relief, collecting four strikeouts over two innings. The rookie bounced all over the Giants pitching staff and between San Francisco and Triple-A Fresno, working in relief, out of the rotation and in the minors as injuries and inconsistency plagued the Giants rotation.

In , Ortiz came into his own and held on to his spot in the Giants’ rotation, jumping on the scene as one of the National League’s premier starters. His 18 wins was good for a tie of 4th in the NL and was in the top 10 in the senior circuit in many other pitching statistics.

was a tale of two seasons for Ortiz, as he was rocked hard before the All-Star break to a tune of 3 wins, 8 losses and 7.55 ERA falling out of favor with manager Dusty Baker. He allowed 10 runs in a game versus the Milwaukee Brewers on May 21, 2000. Despite the ten runs, Ortiz won the game as the Giants outslugged Milwaukee 16–10, making Ortiz the first pitcher since Bob Friend in to allow 10 or more runs and still earn a win. Injuries in the second half of the season gave Ortiz the opportunity to redeem himself, and the California native shined. His 10–4 record and 3.22 ERA after the mid-summer classic helped San Francisco into the National League playoffs, and Ortiz started Game 3 of 2000 NLDS versus the New York Mets. 

Ortiz returned to form in owning a 17–9 record a solid 3.29 ERA, anchoring the pitching staff, for a competitive Giants squad. He also set career highs in innings (218.2 innings) and strikeouts (169).

would prove to be another good effort on Ortiz's part as he and the Giants came within one game of a world championship. Yet again, Ortiz had another stellar second half effort helping the Giants capture the 2002 NL Wild Card. His personal six-game winning streak down the stretch propelled San Francisco into the playoffs and Ortiz captured two more victories (with a 2.19 ERA) over Atlanta in the Division Series. He was not as successful however in the NLCS versus St. Louis surrendering four runs in 4.2 innings in Game 3 of that series. The World Series versus the Angels also featured two polar opposite games for the starter. The Halos shelled him for 7 runs in Game 2 of the World Series, as the Giants went on to lose 11–10. He returned to pitch the pivotal Game 6, and again redeemed himself working 6.1 innings of two-hit baseball. Manager Dusty Baker gave him the game ball when he took him out, assuming they would hold on to a 5–0 lead. The Angels came back to win the game by a final score of 6–5, and went on to win the World Series in 7 games. 

Atlanta Braves (2003–2004)

Ortiz landed on the trading block in the 2002 offseason and was dealt to Atlanta for pitchers Damian Moss and Merkin Valdéz on December 17, 2002. United with pitching guru Leo Mazzone, Ortiz put together a spectacular season, going 21–7 with a 3.81 ERA and collecting his only All-Star nod. With Ortiz as staff ace, the Braves won their 12th consecutive NL East title, and Ortiz took fourth place in the NL Cy Young voting. In a demonstration of how far the pitcher had come, Ortiz pitched a 1–0 complete game shutout and knocked in the game’s only run against the eventual world champion Florida Marlins. Ortiz lost Game 1 of the 2003 NLDS against Chicago however, but once again bounced back to win Game 4 and force a deciding Game 5 that Atlanta would lose.

Ortiz displayed more pitching prowess in helping Atlanta to another division title while collecting a 15–9 record, with a slightly inflated 4.19 ERA. Another stellar late season game came in Montréal on September 4, as Ortiz carried a perfect game into the 6th inning and allowed only two Expos to reach second base in the complete game 9–0 shutout. That improved Ortiz to 5–0 with 1.13 ERA against the Expos in 2004. Still, Ortiz and the Braves could not advance past the first round of the playoffs as he was clobbered by Houston for 5 runs in 3 innings as the Astros advanced.