CINCINNATI (AP) – Wily Mo Pena hit a pair of three-run homers to set a career high with six RBIs and lead the Cincinnati Reds over the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-6 Sunday.

Pena and Edwin Encarnacion hit three-run homers off Brad Halsey in a seven-run fourth inning, and Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez and Sean Casey also homered for Cincinnati. The Reds took two of three from the Diamondbacks to win a home series for the first time since July 22-24 against Milwaukee, when the Reds also won two of three.

Pena hit his second homer in the eighth off Brandon Lyon, when Casey followed to make it consecutive homers.

Eric Milton (7-12) allowed two runs and six hits in sixth inning, and didn’t allow a home run for only the sixth time in 27 starts this season. Milton has allowed a major league-high 35 homers.

Halsey (8-10) gave up seven runs and eight hits in four innings, losing his third straight start after going 4-0 in his previous six. Arizona went 4-8 on a season-high 12-game trip.

After facing just one batter over the minimum nine through the first three innings, Halsey walked Rich Aurilia leading off the fourth, then gave up a single to Ken Griffey Jr. and a 437-foot homer to Pena that bounced off the batter’s eye in center field.

Casey singled, Kearns doubled and Encarnacion lined a homer into the left-field seats. Lopez added an opposite-field solo homer that bounced off the top of the fence in front of the visitors’ bullpen down the right-field line.

Arizona manager Bob Melvin was ejected for the fourth time this season, apparently for arguing that a fan had interfered with Kearns’ home run.

Arizona scored two runs in the sixth on Troy Glaus’ sacrifice fly and Luis Terrero’s single. Tony Clark hit a two-run single off Brian Shackelford in the seventh, but Kearns homered in the bottom half against Greg Aquino. Kearns has three homers in three games and 12 this season.

Alex Cintron hit a two-run homer off Kent Mercker in the eighth, the second pinch-hit homer of his career.

Notes: Cincinnati has scored six or more runs in an inning three times in its last three games.

Arizona 2B Craig Counsell turned 35 Sunday. … Diamondbacks rookie Conor Jackson walked as a pinch hitter in the seventh and remained hitless in 17 straight at-bats … Quinton McCracken is hitless in his last 12 at-bats after striking out as a pinch hitter in the fifth. … SS Royce Clayton was 0-for-5 to snap his season-high hitting streak at nine games. He had reached base at least once in 19 consecutive games.

AP-ES-08-21-05 1655EDT


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