CINCINNATI -- Wily Mo Pena's first bobblehead night was so spectacular that he'd like another.
How could the Cincinnati Reds say no?
Pena homered in his first and last at-bats Wednesday night, hitting a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth for an 11-9 victory over Tampa Bay that fans celebrated by chanting his name and waving his doll.
"I hope tomorrow is another one so I can have a game like tonight," Pena said.
Sorry, Wily Mo. Any future drama will have to come without benefit of the bigheaded dolls -- not that the muscular outfielder needs much help when he's on such a roll.
"I hung a curve on Pena and he's hot right now," said Danys Baez (4-2), who gave up the last of the Reds' six homers. "He's a strong guy and he hits the ball pretty good."
Against Tampa Bay's staff, a lot of hitters find their mark.
Eduardo Perez hit his second career grand slam to give the Devil Rays another big lead on Wednesday, but the AL's worst pitching staff blew a five-run cushion for the second straight game.
"It's absolutely frustrating," Perez said. "You're professionals. You want to win games. It's to the point where we're just playing. We have to concentrate for nine innings and play as a team for nine innings."
Consecutive homers by Adam Dunn and Jacob Cruz cut it to 9-8 in the eighth inning. Then, Baez let another one get away.
Baez, who leads the majors with six blown saves in 13 chances, gave up an infield single to Ryan Freel and walked Joe Randa on four pitches to open the ninth. After Sean Casey hit into a double play, Baez had the option of pitching to Ken Griffey Jr. or walking him and facing Pena.
He chose Griffey, who singled to right to tie it.
"Pena's very hot," Baez said. "At that time, I'd rather face Griffey than Wily Mo. I was right."
The crowd of 32,019 chanted "Wily Mo! Wily Mo!" as Pena hit the sixth pitch into the upper deck in left field. Teammates mobbed him at home plate, and bobblehead-waving fans made him take a curtain call.
"You can't pick a better night for him," manager Dave Miley said. "It was scripted very well for Wily Mo."
The Devil Rays have lost nine of 10, and have the majors' worst road record at 4-25. Much of it is due to their inability to hold a late lead. Four times in the last nine games, the Devil Rays have blown a lead of two or more runs after the seventh inning.
"There's nothing else you can say," Perez said.
The Pena-driven comeback overshadowed another poor start by the Reds.
Left-hander Eric Milton, the key component in the Reds' offseason overhaul of their rotation, was booed off the field after another subpar performance. He gave up eight hits and seven runs in only five innings, including Perez's grand slam.
Milton, who got a three-year, $25.5 million deal, has been one of the NL's most disappointing pitchers. He leads the league in homers (22) and earned runs (58) allowed, skyrocketing his ERA to 7.46.
Pena got the Reds off to a rousing start on his big night. The outfielder led off the second inning with a homer to center, and fans jiggled his dolls in appreciation as he rounded the bases.
Another hometown favorite then turned the game.
Playing in the city where he grew up watching his Hall of Fame father, Tony, play for the Big Red Machine, Perez rallied the Devil Rays with one of his most memorable games. He doubled off the wall in center in the first inning, and came to bat with the bases loaded and the Devil Rays trailing 3-1 in the fifth. He hit Milton's 2-0 pitch into the lower deck in left field for his fourth homer of the season.
Tony and Eduardo have 442 homers, fourth on the father-son career list behind the Bonds (Bobby and Barry), the Griffeys (Ken and Ken Jr.) and the Alous (Felipe and Moises).
Griffey singled in the sixth, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, but was picked off second by catcher Toby Hall, ending a threat. He was delighted to get a chance to tie it in the ninth, aided by the Devil Rays' meltdown.
"We messed up a few things," Griffey said. "Fortunately I was able to redeem myself and tie the game up so Wily could win it."
Notes
- LHP Casey Fossum, forced from his start last Friday, will take his normal turn in the final game of the series on Thursday.
- The Reds will activate RHP Luke Hudson off the 15-day DL to start Thursday's game. Hudson has been sidelined all season by a sore shoulder.
- Perez's other grand slam was for St. Louis on July 14, 2000, off Chicago's Bobby Howry.
- The Reds last hit six homers on April 20, 2003, against Montreal.
- David Weathers (3-0) pitched the ninth to get the win.
