Kevin Newman homers in first at-bat with Cincinnati Reds and it came against his old team

Kevin Newman insists he didn’t think much about playing against his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the first series of the season after they traded him to the Cincinnati Reds in November.

He said as much in the days leading up to the start of the season and again Saturday after he homered in his first at-bat with his new team.

Newman blasted a two-run home run off Pirates lefty Rich Hill in the first inning, the ball hitting the front of the second deck in left field.

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“It’s a little bit different, but I think I do a pretty good job of separating the emotion and the game,” Newman said. “When I’m out there and playing, I don’t really think about who I’m facing, how long I’ve known them and my relationship with them. When I hit the homer, obviously, it was a very cool feeling, but also thinking about how that put us up in the first. That was the major thought that ran through my head.”

Newman is the first Reds player to homer in his first plate appearance with the team since Stuart Fairchild did it last year. The only other Reds players to accomplish the feat in the last decade, according to Bally Sports Ohio, are Tyler Stephenson (2020), Derek Dietrich (2019), Curt Casali (2018) and Adam Duvall (2015). Bronson Arroyo did it too in 2006.

A good introduction for a guy who totaled two home runs last year and five in his last full season.

“I got a good pitch to hit and knew it right off the bat,” Newman said. “It was a pretty cool feeling to definitely get my Reds career started that way.”

The Reds acquired Newman after they traded Kyle Farmer to the Minnesota Twins, which saved the Reds $2.92 million for the difference between salaries. Newman is a good defender at shortstop who hits well against lefthanded pitching.

Newman, 29, was Pittsburgh’s starting shortstop last year until Oneil Cruz reached the majors. He’ll likely cede some playing time to Jose Barrero at shortstop to begin the season, but he will regularly be in the lineup when there are lefty starting pitchers.

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“I try to really control what I can control,” Newman said. “I don’t believe in wasting in the effort in other areas. I just try to come to the yard, get better every day, do what I can do and (David Bell) is going to make his decision. That’s how I have always gone about those things.”

Joey Votto homers on first pitch in Triple-A

Playing first base for Triple-A Louisville on a rehab assignment Saturday, Joey Votto homered on the first pitch he saw during the 2023 season.

Votto’s solo homer off Milwaukee Brewers minor league pitcher Caleb Boushley traveled 448 feet to center field, leaving his bat at 107.9 mph. Votto, who did not play in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, went 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.

He can return from the 10-day injured list as early as Thursday.

Nick Senzel, Tony Santillan nearing rehab assignments

Votto will likely have some company on a rehab assignment in a few days. Nick Senzel and Tony Santillan are scheduled to report to Louisville Tuesday.

Senzel, who had surgery for his broken toe in November, is expected to play center field and third base on the rehab assignment while he could see time in the corner outfield and second base. He was scheduled to play nine innings in a minor league game.

Santillan missed most of the 2022 season because of a back injury. He dealt with some knee soreness after pitching in his first minor league game at the end of spring training, but he remains on track to potentially return by mid-to-late April.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds vs. Pirates game: Kevin Newman homers in first at-bat on new team