Kevin Newman Has Big Day in Doubleheader
Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers split their doubleheader with the Pirates winning game one and the Brewers winning game two. In game one, it was the Pirates offense that came through scoring 14 runs in a 14-4 win, and the Brewers came through with six runs in a 6-0 game two win. The 14 runs scored in game one were a team-high for the Pirates this season and showed what they can do when everyone is hitting on all cylinders. In total, eight of the nine Pirates starters got hits and six of the eight starters had multi-hit games. The Pirates recorded more hits than outs in the seven-inning game and looked as good as they had all season. However, one man stood above the rest and had a breakout game after struggling all season.
Kevin Newman finished game one 4-4 with all four of hits going for doubles and finished the doubleheader going 5-7 with four doubles and two RBI in the two games. He fell just two doubles shy of the record for most doubles hit in a doubleheader game and brought his average up to .227, a season-high for the infielder. Newman has been one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball this season and set the record for most errorless games to start the season at shortstop work 77. During his rookie year, Newman showed he has the potential to hit the ball consistently, with a .310 batting average, but hasn't reached that mark since. Today, we look at Newman's big game and whether or not it can spearhead the rest of his season.
Doubles Machine
If you looked up "doubles machine" in the baseball dictionary, odds are you would see Kevin Newman's stat line next to the word. In Game one, Newman finished 4-4 with four doubles and two RBI in the Pirates 14-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the most doubles Newman has ever had in a single game and finished the day two shy of the record for most doubles hit in a doubleheader. Unfortunately, game two was not as productive for the 28-year-old infielder as he went 1-3, but overall it was a good day. Newman, who has a career-low hard-hit percentage of just 24.7%, needed a game where he could consistently find the gap, and yesterday was that day.
His first two doubles got rallies started for the Pirates in both the third and the fourth inning. In the bottom of the third, Newman came to the plate in a 0-0 game and took the fifth pitch of the at-bat to left-center field to put a runner in scoring position to start things off. He would come around two batters later on a Hoy Park RBI single, and the Pirates would cut the Brewers early lead to 3-1. The Pirates would end up taking the lead before the inning was over, scoring four runs to make it 4-3. One innings later, Newman came up with Gregory Polanco on first and no outs and doubled to put runners on first and third. Polanco would score on a John Nogowski single, and Newman scored on a Rodolfo Castro single to make it 6-4.
Newman's next double was the straw that broke the Brewer's back in this one coming in the bottom of the fifth. After back-to-back one-out singles by Castro and Polanco, Newman came up in his first run-scoring opportunity. He got ahead in the count 2-1, before seeing a sinker that dropped right into the middle of the plate. Newman sent it out to left-center field, bringing in two runs and giving the Pirates an 8-4 lead. Newman would finish his day in the bottom of the sixth with his final double of the day and ended up being stranded on base. It was the end of a big day for Newman, as he helped lead the charge for a 14-run output.
Building off the Effort
For Newman, the 2021 season has been one that hasn't been great on the offensive side of the ball. His biggest problem is he is not someone who hits the ball hard that often. Throughout his Major League career, he has never had a hard hit percentage over 28% which leads to a lot of easy outs. Early on, he was famous for the flare into the outfield that would fall into no man's land for a hit. However, once teams adjusted to Newman, they were forcing him to pound the ball into the ground and eliminated those short flares. Newman's line drive rate has dropped every season since joining the Major Leagues, and it is at a career-low 25%. Because his line drive rate is down, those flares were being eliminated and turning into small ground-outs.
There is no doubt that what has saved Newman's career is his defensive ability. He is currently the best defensive shortstop in baseball, with a fielding percentage of .994. With shortstop being a defensive first position, his defense has outweighed his offense throughout his career. If Newman could get his batting average up around the .250 mark, he would most certainly be one of the most coveted shortstops in the league. However, without Newman being able to hit the ball hard consistently, it takes his value way down. Hopefully, his big performance yesterday is a step in the right direction, and that he can get the offense going for the rest of the year.
As for Newman's future in Pittsburgh, he needs to start performing to stay in the lineup. His defense is good, but with guys like Liover Peguero making their way up through the Pirates system, Newman is going to have some competition to deal with. If he can improve on his offense, his defensive ability will then be more valuable and can help bring in more value. For Newman, he does has four years of control left on his contract and is under control through his age 32 season. Newman can still make an impact in Pittsburgh, and more than likely will be here for the next couple of seasons. In that time, he can use his defensive ability to hold down shortstop, while providing guidance when the next generation of players get here.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (42-75) look for the series win against the Milwaukee Brewers (71-47) today at 1:05 pm. Dillon Peters (0-0, -.--) makes his Pirates debut in the game when he takes on Eric Lauer (4-4, 3.50) for the Brewers. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet or listen live on 93.7 The Fan.
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