Wily Mo Pena is back -- and big -- in the bigs

PHOENIX -- Wily Mo Pena is listed at 6-foot-3 and 230, and the clubhouse scale reads 6-4, 265. He is seems bigger than life these days, in his return to the majors after a three-year absence. The first eight days of Pena's comeback have had a storybook quality, and he continued the dramatics with a two-run, walkoff home run to help Arizona break a three-game losing streak with a 6-4 victory over Cleveland. Pena, pinch-hitting, swung over a first-pitch breaking ball with one out and Ryan Roberts on third base before driving a slightly more elevated breaking ball into the left field stands, his second game-deciding homer since he was purchased from Class AAA Reno on June 21. The first was a 454-footer in Detroit on June 24, a blast that broke a tie at 6 in the eighth inning and brought a "did you see that?" look of amazement from hitting coach Don Baylor, who once led the Blake Street Bombers. This one, Pena did not think was out. When you are that strong, it just happens. "Everybody saw the swung that I took. It was so hard. The second one, I step up and I just say, 'Let him bring it up' and that's what happened. He brought it up and I come and get it," Pena said. "Everybody knows I'm a fastball hitter. They say he can't hit a slider. I work on that. That's what I worked on in the offseason. Contact. That's what it's all about, making contact." On any other night, D-backs right-hander Daniel Hudson and Cleveland right-hander Josh Tomlin would have knocked down the door to the 10-win club. Since they pitched as well against each other Tuesday as they have against everyone else this season, however, both will have to wait. It was Pena's night. Maybe Pena's year. It has been a season of comebacks for the D-backs, who overcame a deficit to win for the 22nd time this season Tuesday, so maybe Pena is a perfect fit. Pena had been out of the majors since July 2008, when he underwent shoulder surgery that cost him the rest of the year in Washington. He played 41 games at Class AAA Buffalo in 2009 before undergoing knee surgery, and he opened the 2010 season with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League because teams wanted to check his health. He was fine. San Diego signed Pena for Class AAA Portland, where he hit .324 in 40 games there before D-backs general manager Kevin Towers signed him to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league spring training. Pena hit .357 with three homers in 41 spring at-bats, and he made an even stronger statement when he was sent down. He did not storm or point to his numbers. Instead, he thanked Towers and manager Kirk Gibson for giving him so much of a chance. He was new to the organization, and he didn't how he would fit in. "I told 'Gibby' and the GM that I appreciated everything. They gave me so many at-bats, and that was the opportunity I was looking for. I told them thank you for that. They were surprised," Pena said. "We didn't know what to expect. He hadn't played a lot. He came in, and he was a great guy. I had no idea what kind of guy. He was very personable in the clubhouse," Gibson said. "He left a huge impression on us." Concentrating on contact, Pena hit .363 with 21 homers and 63 RBIs in 63 games at Reno, and when interleague play called for a DH, he was the logical candidate, joining the team in Kansas City on June 21. He homered three pitches into his return to the majors, sparking a 7-2 comeback victory that night. At home, he is 2 for 2 as a pinch-hitter, singling and scoring Monday. "I feel great with the opportunity they have given me. Anytime they need me, I'll be ready." Pena had his second career walkoff, hitting his first in Cincinnati in 2005 against Tampa Bay, capping a two homer night with a two-run homer off Danys Baez for an 11-9 victory. He was 23, and it was the night the Reds gave away Pena bobbleheads. "I remember that. It was so perfect," he said. The Diamondbacks know the feeling. Follow Jack Magruder on Twitter