Homegrown Nieuwenhuis produces again

Before anyone gets carried away with the impressive debut of Mets rookie centerfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, he comes with a self-proclaimed warning label: "I am not a power hitter."

Well, you could have fooled Washington starting pitcher Edwin Jackson on that score Monday night at Citi Field. Cruising along and seemingly in command with two outs and a man on first in the fourth inning, Jackson hung a slider a little bit up in the zone, and the lefthanded-hitting Nieuwenhuis pulled it over the rightfield wall, where it hit the Modell's sign for a two-run homer that tied the score at 3.

Thanks to that big hit, which was the first home run and marked the first two RBIs of a big-league career that now is three games old, the Mets were in position to manufacture the winning run in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 victory.

In only three games since being called up after veteran centerfielder Andres Torres suffered a strained calf muscle in the opener, Nieuwenhuis has impressed with his bat as well as a glove that has him rated as the best defensive outfielder in the club's farm system.

"It was great," Nieuwenhuis said of his first big-league home run trot. "It felt real good . . . I know that was a double last year. I wasn't sure when I hit it."

It's true that Nieuwenhuis' blast would have bounced off the wall and back into the field if the Mets had not moved the outfield wall in during the offseason. But there wasn't much doubt where the ball was headed when it left his bat.

"That was a big, big hit for Nieuwenhuis tonight," said Mets manager Terry Collins, who plans to start the rookie against righthanders and use Scott Hairston against lefties. "This kid's at the start of possibly a great major-league career."

Before the game, Collins noted that the entire starting lineup was made up of homegrown players from the Mets' organization, and he said more are on the way. Nieuwenhuis was forced to come up more quickly than expected, but he was ready and has shown improvement at the plate at every step on the way up the ladder.

Asked to explain that trend, Nieuwenhuis said, "They've got great hitting coaches down there, and I've learned a lot from them."

Fortunately for the rookie, the milestone home run ball was returned to him after the game by a couple of young female fans, who received a bat and a couple of baseballs in exchange. Nieuwenhuis' parents, Bob and Joan, who saw him get two hits in his major-league debut Saturday, still were in town to witness the big hit.

It was his mother's birthday, but Nieuwenhuis said, "I'm giving the ball to my Pops."