Diamondbacks' Kevin Newman: Supplies offense in loss

Newman started at shortstop and went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-1 loss to Seattle.

Newman homered for the second time in the last three games. He's started four straight and six of the last seven, more opportunities than had been expected for him when his contract was selected earlier this month. A combination of Geraldo Perdomo's knee injury and a Blaze Alexander's brief hamstring absence contributed to the spike in play. Alexander returned to action Wednesday and should get the bulk of starts at shortstop until Perdomo is ready, although Newman's defense has been better than Alexander's thus far. Newman is batting .186 (8-for-43) with a walk, two doubles, two homers and eight RBI over 14 games.