Kirk Nieuwenhuis hits three home runs, strikes out in chance for fourth
Mets outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit three home runs in the first five innings of Sunday's game. He struck out in a chance for his fourth.
By
Mike Axisa
•
1 min read
The Mets have had offensive struggles all season, so Kirk Nieuwenhuis took matters into his own hands on Sunday afternoon. He hit three home runs in the first five innings against the Diamondbacks. The Mets went on to win 5-3 to complete a sweep of Arizona.
Here is the third of Nieuwenhuis' three home runs. All three home runs are available in one unembeddable video right here:
Nieuwenhuis did get an opportunity to hit a fourth home run in the seventh inning, but he struck out against left-hander Andrew Chafin. He did not get a fifth at-bat.
Nieuwenhuis, 27, hit three home runs in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He came into Sunday's game 7 for 66 (.106) on the season, which he's split between the Mets and Angels. Nieuwenhuis started the year with the Mets, was claimed off waivers by the Angels, then was re-claimed by the Mets.
Believe it or not, Nieuwenhuis is the first Mets player in history with three home runs at home, either Shea Stadium or Citi Field. It is the tenth three-run home run game in team history. Here are the previous nine:
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | IBB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ike Davis | 2012-07-28 | NYM | ARI | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Carlos Beltran | 2011-05-12 | NYM | COL | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Jose Reyes | 2006-08-15 | NYM | PHI | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Edgardo Alfonzo | 1999-08-30 | NYM | HOU | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Gary Carter | 1985-09-03 | NYM | SDP | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Darryl Strawberry | 1985-08-05 | NYM | CHC | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Claudell Washington | 1980-06-22 | NYM | LAD | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Dave Kingman | 1976-06-04 | NYM | LAD | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Jim Hickman | 1965-09-03 | NYM | STL | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Nieuwenhuis hit his first two home runs off Rubby De La Rosa and his third off Randall Delgado. He has two solo home runs and a two-run homer.
This is the fifth three-homer game of 2015. Bryce Harper, Joey Votto, Adrian Gonzalez and J.D. Martinez all pulled it off earlier this year.
The Mets beat the D'Backs thanks not only to Nieuwenhuis, but also a quality start from Jonathon Niese (NYM 5, ARI 3).
