DENVER -- Kevin Newman was rounding first and watching his fifth-inning drive to center field intently, hoping it wouldn’t go over the fence.

The rookie shortstop, after all, was a triple shy of the cycle.

“It would’ve been really cool to get an accomplishment like that,” Newman said after his bat fueled an 11-8 Pirates victory over the Rockies in Thursday night’s series opener at Coors Field. “But I also never hit two home runs in a game, either.”

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The ball didn’t stay in the park, instead landing in the second row of seats beyond the center-field wall, 422 feet away from home plate for Newman’s second homer of the game. When it was all said and done, he was 4-for-4, adding a single and a double. He was also hit by a pitch in the seventh inning, closing the book on his chance at a cycle.

It was Newman’s fourth career four-hit performance and his second in five games -- he went 4-for-4 with a double against the Reds on Sunday. With the two home runs, he equaled his home run output over the previous 43 games. Since moving to the leadoff spot in the lineup, he’s hitting .405 (15-for-37) with two doubles, a triple and two homers.

More than all of that, however, Thursday’s effort was possibly a glimpse into the future, something that is always on the minds of these Pirates. Pittsburgh’s season cratered following the All-Star break, when it went from 44-45 and 3 1/2 games out of first place in the National League Central, to 52-75 on Aug. 22, 17 games out and looking ahead to 2020.

But since then, the Bucs have reeled off wins in five of seven games, showing a resolve to finish the 2019 campaign strong as a young core transitions into next season with aspirations of returning to contention.

Though the bullpen made it more interesting than manager Clint Hurdle would have liked after the offense staked the Pirates to an 11-3 lead by the fifth inning, Newman’s huge night and starter Trevor Williams’ strong outing served as a reminder of why this club entered the season with hopes of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2015.

Williams got off to a bad start in August, posting a 10.00 ERA over his first four starts of the month. His season ERA ballooned nearly a full run over that stretch, from 4.75 to 5.65. But the 27-year-old right-hander, just a season removed from a 3.11 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 31 starts, has rebounded since.

Williams tossed six scoreless frames against the Reds on Saturday and then seven strong innings while giving up three runs at Coors Field on Thursday. He scattered seven hits, walked none and struck out six.

“That was a grown-man outing,” Hurdle said. “The fastball command, the first-pitch strikes, set up everything. His slider played, his changeup played, but fastball command set up everything. … All you’ve got to do is look at any one of his starts in the second half of last season [when he had a 1.29 ERA over 13 starts]. This is what we saw.

“His fastball usage is going to be over 50 percent, but it’s the quadrants. It’s gonna be crossfire -- up and in, down and away. Down and away, up and in. He’s gonna elevate at times, sink it at times -- the sinker continues to play. He had 11 guys retired in three pitches or less [Thursday night], which is one of his biggest indicators when he’s pitching well.”

Pittsburgh’s middle relief stumbled, with Montana DuRapau, just called up from Triple-A Indianapolis, being charged with four runs over two-thirds of an inning before Michael Feliz came in and gave up a Sam Hilliard two-run homer.

In the ninth, however, Felipe Vazquez came in to close things out, touching 102 mph with his fastball. Between Williams’ start, Newman’s bat and Vazquez’s arm, there was plenty of good that came with the bad, and the good is why the Pirates see better things ahead.

“It’s a great peek into what we can do,” Newman said. “We’ve put the past behind us, and we’re just trying to come in every day and play how we can play.

“And I think today’s just a nice example of what we have in our tank.”