Kevin Newman had two three-hit games last season as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
He bettered the hit total against his former team in the opener of a three-game set Monday and will look to continue his recent hot streak when the Arizona Diamondbacks host the Reds on Tuesday night in Phoenix.
Newman went 4-for-5 in Monday’s opener, topped by a two-run walk-off single with one out in the bottom of the ninth as Arizona recorded a dramatic 6-5 victory.
Newman’s game-winning hit was a soft flare off Alexis Diaz that landed in shallow right field.
“Just got lucky on that one, placed it in a good spot and scored two runs,” Newman said of the decisive hit.
The Diamondbacks have won six of their past eight games, including a 4-0 mark against the Reds. Arizona swept three games in Cincinnati last week.
Diaz set the stage for Newman by loading the bases with one out. He hit Lourdes Gurriel Jr. with a pitch to start the ninth and later walked Gabriel Moreno and Jake McCarthy before Newman overturned a Diamondbacks’ deficit into a victory.
Over his last three games, Newman is 8-for-12 with four doubles, one triple, four runs scored and two RBIs. He’s the fill-in shortstop with Geraldo Perdomo on the injured list after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee early last month.
“Just working on staying up the middle, to stay on those off-speed pitches a little bit better,” Newman said of the three straight multi-hit outings.
Newman batted .253 in 74 games as a reserve infielder for Cincinnati last season.
Across the diamond, the heartbreaking setback made it 11 losses in 12 games for the Reds.
“We felt we were going to win it the whole game,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said. “We put ourselves in a nice position to win the game.
“Alexis has been so good for us on so many occasions. Those games are going to happen for him. That’s what a team is for. We will come back tomorrow and pick him up.”
On Tuesday, the Reds’ Hunter Greene (1-2, 3.38 ERA) and Arizona’s Slade Cecconi (1-2, 4.15) will meet for the second time in six days in a battle of right-handers.
Greene, 24, has allowed more than three runs in just two of his eight starts. He lost both times.
Greene walked a season-worst five in five innings in his last turn when he received a no-decision against Arizona on Thursday. He allowed three runs and four hits and struck out six in a game the Diamondbacks won 5-4.
Greene is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in three career starts against Arizona. Joc Pederson (2-for-4) homered off Greene on Thursday, while Ketel Marte is hitless in seven at-bats against him.
Cecconi also received a no-decision last Thursday. He gave up one run on three hits and three walks and struck out two in 5 1/3 innings.
Cecconi has a 1.64 ERA in two career starts against Cincinnati. Jeimer Candelario (1-for-2) homered off him on Thursday.
The 24-year-old has allowed two runs or fewer in three of his four starts.
The Reds learned Monday that outfielder TJ Friedl fractured his left thumb when hit by a pitch during Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco Giants. Bell said Friedl will miss four to five weeks.
Friedl has played in just six games this season. He just returned from a broken right wrist sustained during spring training.
Marte went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts in the opener to stretch his hitting streak to 14 games.
–Field Level Media
