Even though Thursday night was Kenley Jansen Bobblehead Night at Dodger Stadium, there’s a pretty good chance that many of the 45,058 in attendance came to the ballpark for another reason – to witness something that has never been done before in baseball history.

Dodgers rookie center fielder Joc Pederson entered Thursday night’s game having hit a home run in each of his previous five games – a record for a Dodger rookie. It also put him in the elite company of Hall of Famer Roy Campanella and Matt Kemp as the only Dodgers to have done so – rookie or otherwise. All Pederson needed to do was homer in Thursday night’s game to stand alone in both Dodgers history with six consecutive games with a home run and MLB history with six consecutive games with a home run by a rookie.

But there was one thing standing between Pederson and baseball immortality – Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha, who entered the game with a 7-1 record and the league’s fifth-best ERA at 2.27.

Pederson led off for the Dodgers and in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, he sent Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay to the warning track in deep right-center field where Jay pulled in Pederson’s long fly ball out.

Close but no cigar.

But in his second at-bat in the bottom of the third inning, Pederson drove Wacha’s 88-MPH fastball to the opposite field in deep left and it appeared that the 23-year-old Palo Alto, CA native had successfully done what no other rookie has ever done in the 146-year history of the game, it appeared that he had hit his sixth home run in six consecutive games. In fact, the power-hitting left-hander actually began his home run trot out of the batters box. But just as it has done for six decades, pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium and it’s famous cool and damp evening air prevented Pederson’s ball from leaving the park… by mere inches. Instead, the ball hit the top of the wall and Pederson had to settle for a double.

Pederson drove Michael Wacha’s 88-MPH fastball to the opposite field and missed making baseball history by inches. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Pederson would strike out looking to end the fifth inning (with runners at second and third), ground out to second base to end the seventh inning, and be left standing in the on-deck circle in the bottom of the ninth inning when Alberto Callaspo grounded out to second to end the game.

Destiny denied – at least for the time being.

While Pederson missed out on etching his name in baseball history by mere inches, it was the second time this season that the young slugger has had four or more consecutive games with a home run. And with the 2015 season only one-third completed, it probably won’t be his last.