Mariners’ Kyle Lewis just 2nd ever to homer in each of 1st 3 MLB games
Sep 12, 2019, 9:25 PM | Updated: 11:22 pm
It was a cool story when Mariners rookie Kyle Lewis homered in his MLB debut on Tuesday night.
It was special when he hit his second home run in his second big league game, giving Seattle the lead against the Reds on Wednesday night.
But now it’s just getting ridiculous.
Lewis proved that he was just getting started in his first two games with the Mariners, as he registered hits in each of his first three trips to the plate on Thursday night.
And the third hit? It was this absolute blast in the fifth inning.
Here’s the part where we talk about just how impressive what Lewis has done so far is.
First, Thursday’s solo shot cleared the scoreboard behind the bullpens at T-Mobile Park, traveling 457 feet – the longest of the year by a Mariners player.
Second, he’s the first Mariners player to ever homer in each of his first three MLB games.
That last fact, though, should go without saying, because Lewis is actually only the second player in Major League Baseball history to homer in each of his first three big league games. On that very short list, he joins Colorado Rockies All-Star shortstop Trevor Story, who accomplished the feat in 2016.
Kyle Lewis is the second player in Major League history to homer in each of his first 3 career games, joining Colorado's Trevor Story (2016). #Mariners
— MarinersPR (@MarinersPR) September 13, 2019
We’re not done with the facts and figures, though. At the time of Lewis’ homer, he had an eye-popping 2.222 OPS (on-base plus slugging), and he was just a triple short of hitting for the cycle.
Lewis joined the Mariners on Tuesday following his promotion from Double-A Arkansas. He hit .263 with 61 runs scored and 11 home runs in 122 games for the Travelers, leading the team with 25 doubles and 62 RBIs. He was selected 11th overall in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft, but a devastating knee injury suffered just 30 games into his first pro season kept him from playing a full season until this year.
But after a long road to recovery, Lewis has taken the Mariners by storm. And if I’m Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto right now, I’m reminding every person I see that Lewis was the first MLB Draft selection the M’s made under Dipoto’s direction.
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