Diamondbacks September Glory #3--Parra's F-U Homer Beats Dodgers With Exclamation Point

Gerardo Parra

​The Diamondbacks went into a road series with the Los Angeles Dodgers with an eight-game cushion over the fading San Francisco Giants.

Ace pitcher Ian Kennedy got the start for Arizona, and scuffled at the start, giving up four runs in the first inning before settling down.

LA still led 4-3 going into the top of the seventh inning as D-Backs leftfielder Gerardo Parra stepped to the plate against hard-throwing Hong Chih-Kuo.

Parra squared to bunt, and Chih-Kuo came up and in, seemingly a "purpose pitch" meant to send the batter a message.

A few pitches later, Parra sat dead-red on a pitch right over the plate and hit it out to tie the game.

That's when it really got interesting.

Parra stood at home plate for what seemed like a long two or three seconds admiring the flight of his ball before dropping his bat and circling the bases.

The Dodgers' bench players hollering some nasty things at Parra as he rounded third and headed home, as did LA catcher A.J. Ellis.

D-Backs manager Kirk Gibson and hitting coach Don Baylor chirped back from their dugout.

It all made for great theatre.

Oh, in the end, Arizona won by a 5-4 score, moving ever closer to the NL West crown.