Mets’ OF Nieuwenhuis hits 3 homers in first 3 at-bats

Nieuwenhuis hit not one, not two, but three home runs against the Diamondbacks as the Mets won 5-3, becoming the first Met to do so in Flushing – ever.

Nieuwenhuis had a chance to become the 17th player in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a game but D-backs reliever Andrew Chafin found his weakness with a strikeout in the seventh.

Nieuwenhuis put the Mets ahead, 1-0, with an opposite-field drive to left on a 3-2 fastball by Rubby De La Rosa (6-5) leading off the second.

With Randall Delgado pitching in the fifth, the lefty Nieuwenhuis pulled his third dinger of the day off the foul-pole netting in right, earning a curtain call from the crowd.

Nieuwenhuis, who was designated for assignment earlier this season by the Mets, provided three of those homers while becoming the 10th player in franchise history to hit three in one game. As his.106/.192/.182 slash line for the season suggests, Nieuwenhuis doesn’t pack much punch from the plate.

Entering Sunday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks Nieuwenhuis was batting a dismal. This time, he belted an opposite-field shot that drove in two runs. He also had three homers in 95 at-bats in 2013.

Below we take a look at the Diamondbacks’ loss, by the numbers.

Jon Niese pitched six-and-two-thirds innings and allowed three runs to get the win and continues his streak of strong performances. In his previous outing, he shut out the Giants for eight three-hit innings.