CINCINNATI -Wily Mo Pena hit a three-run homer so deep into the upper deck that it drew an extra standing ovation yesterday, then hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning that sent the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-5 victory over the Houston Astros.
After losing 12 straight games to the Astros since last July 31, the Reds won the last two with solid starting pitching, an awesome swing and a late comeback.
Pena's fourth-inning homer off Brandon Duckworth crashed down in the upper deck in left-center field, an estimated 498 feet from home plate. Fans in right field bowed and gave Pena a standing ovation for the second-longest homer in Great American Ball Park's three seasons.
Joe Randa had a more modest two-run shot off Duckworth, who lasted five innings in his first start this season and left trailing 5-3. After the Astros tied it in the seventh, Randa singled off Chad Qualls (1-1) with one out in the eighth and came around on Pena's double to the wall in right.
Ryan Wagner (1-1) struck out the side in the eighth, and Danny Graves got his fourth save in four chances.
Reds starter Aaron Harang had only one bad moment in six innings, Jason Lane's three-run homer in the fourth. The Astros pulled even against Cincinnati's bullpen in the seventh, when Chris Burke singled home the tying run for his first career RBI.
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