Best Hitting Performance, No. 1: Newman Perfects Bid Toward Cycle

INDIANAPOLIS - With one big swing, Kevin Newman reached new heights in an already successful minor league career. On Aug. 7 against the IronPigs, the 25-year-old homered in the eighth inning to complete the first five-hit game and cycle of his career.

Facing Cole Irvin, eventually named as the International League's Most Valuable Pitcher at the end of the 2018 season, Newman set the tone for an offensive explosion against the league's top regular-season squad.

He opened the bottom of the first with a double into the left-field corner off Irvin. Newman turned on a 1-2, 89-mph offering from the southpaw and yanked it down the line. Jacob Stallings later smacked a two-out double to bring Newman home.

Newman's second knock was a one-out single in the third. Irvin spotted an 83-mph changeup low and away, but Newman punched it back up the middle for a base hit.

His final at-bat against Lehigh Valley's crafty left-hander came in the fifth. Newman torched a liner to deep right-center and reached third for a stand-up triple.

The Indians blew the game open with six runs in the sixth, capped by Newman's second double that plated Eric Wood and Tyler Eppler.

Still in need of a long ball for the cycle, Newman cranked a 1-0 pitch from Jake Thompson to deep left for his fourth dinger of the year. The home run made it 11-5 in favor of Indy.

Newman's accomplishment made him the fifth Tribe player since 1996 to hit for the cycle and first since Josh Bell did so on April 22, 2016 at Louisville.

Newman's numbers: 5-for-5, 1 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R