Major League Baseball

Mets get 1st HR by lefty over LF fence at Citi

Published Apr. 21, 2012 3:46 a.m. ET

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It took four seasons, 250 games and reconfigured dimensions, but a left-handed hitter for the New York Mets finally cleared the left-field fence at Citi Field.

Rookie outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit the opposite-field drive to left-center off San Francisco lefty Barry Zito in the fifth inning Friday night.

The shot cleared the new 8-foot fence by about 2 feet and landed in the Party City Deck. It was well short of the old 16-foot wall, which is about 10 feet deeper.

It was the fourth home run in seven games this season that cleared the new fence but would not have gone over the old wall. Nieuwenhuis' solo drive cut the Mets' deficit to 3-2. It was the 4,155th at-bat for a Mets left-handed hitter at Citi Field, according to STATS LLC.

Batting left-handed, Angel Pagan hit an inside-the-park, opposite-field homer for the Mets on Aug. 23, 2009. Also, Ike Davis hit a drive slightly to the left of center off Atlanta's Derek Lowe on July 11, 2010.

There have been seven opposite-field homers to left by left-handed visitors at Citi Field: Joey Votto and Ryan Howard each did it twice and Jorge Posada, Adam Dunn and Nick Johnson had one apiece.

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