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.