Home runs leading off baseball games aren't all that rare an occurrence in Major League Baseball. However, the one hit by Gerardo Parra on Saturday night is rare for a couple different reasons that just so happened to come together on the same night.
1. It came on the very first pitch of the game from Tom Koehler.
Again, in and of itself, not all that unusual, but wait for part two.
2. It held up as the only run scored in the entire baseball game.
That means the Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins played a complete nine-inning game, and all of the offense came on the first of 236 pitches. According to Elias (via ESPN Stats), the last time a baseball game followed that exact script was all the back on Sept. 2, 1963.
The hitter that day? None other than Pete Rose, as the Cincinnati Reds knocked off the Mets 1-0 in Game 2 of a doubleheader.
That's pretty remarkable when you think about it, but if you're to believe Parra, that may have been the way hitting coach Don Baylor had it drawn up all afternoon.
[Related: Rays snap Orioles' leading-after-seven streak at 109 games]
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