Newman collects three hits in Indy debut

In his first game at the Minor Leagues' highest level, Kevin Newman continued to hit all the right spots.
Pittsburgh's No. 3 prospect collected three hits and scored twice in his International League debut as Triple-A Indianapolis routed Gwinnett, 11-1, on Thursday night at Coolray Field.

Ranked as MLB.com's No. 48 overall prospect, Newman earned a promotion after compiling a .259/.310/.359 slash line in 82 games with Double-A Altoona. The 2015 first-round pick's numbers were largely hampered by a lackluster May in which he hit .172 in 22 contests. Newman had picked things up of late, however, with a .309 average in 16 games for the Curve in July.
"Early on, I was hitting balls hard right at people and making a lot of tough outs," the 23-year-old said. "There is really nothing you can do about that. You try to stick to the same approach. It was almost like the flick of a switch where some of my base hits started falling. I didn't change much in my approach or mechanically. Things just started to turn around."
The good vibes continued against the G-Braves as Newman legged out three infield hits. Batting second, the Poway, California native collected an RBI single to second base off starter David Peterson in the first inning before grounding out to third to end the frame as Indianapolis sent 11 men to the plate in building a 6-0 lead. 
Gameday box score
Two innings later, Newman beat out another single on a grounder to shortstop Ozzie Albies, the top Braves prospect. After grounding out to second in the fifth, he singled to third in the eighth to wrap up his seventh three-hit effort of the season.

"I saw the ball well and got some pitches out over the plate and made some good swings," the 6-foot-1, 180-pound infielder said. "One of them I definitely had to beat it out. Two of them, the infielders made some really nice plays, but the throws weren't on line and didn't get there. It was good though, I'll take it."

The University of Arizona product said he doesn't plan to spend much time reflecting on his introduction to Triple-A.
"It's just one game," he said. "It's definitely a good start, but you can't think too much into just one game. I've got a lot of games left and baseball is a crazy sport, so I'll take it day by day. I'm thankful for the results tonight and thankful for how the team played and what we were able to do. Tomorrow is a new day."
Jordan Luplow also continued to swing a hot bat. He finished 3-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBIs for the Indians. Pittsburgh's No. 28 prospect is 9-for-19 over his last five games. 

Tyler Glasnow (5-0) gave up one run on four hits and five walks while striking out 11. The right-hander has logged at least 11 whiffs in four of seven starts with Indianapolis this season. 
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"He's an unbelievable competitor," Newman said of Glasnow. "His stuff was electric. It's fun to play defense behind. He's a big league pitcher. It's cool to see him work and to see him kind of dominate pitching."
Albies cracked a leadoff dinger for Gwinnett in the first, while Peterson (1-3) was roughed up for six runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in one inning.