It was his second grand slam of the season and No. 3

CHICAGO -- Devin Mesoraco was hit by a pitch twice, in addition to the usual nicks that go along with being a catcher. He had a bag of ice on his right wrist and another on his left knee when he sat down for a well-deserved postgame meal. One sweet swing and another big win, and it was easy to forget about one painful night. Mesoraco homered for the fourth straight game, connecting for a two-out grand slam in Cincinnatis five-run ninth, and the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 6-1 on Monday for their third straight win. "Youre going to get beat up back there," said Mesoraco, shrugging off all the bumps and bruises. "Thats why I get more days off than everybody else." Mesoraco drove a 1-0 pitch from Hector Rondon (1-2) into the basket in left-centre for his 13th homer. It was his second grand slam of the season and No. 3 of his career. Billy Hamilton had a tiebreaking RBI single earlier in the inning as Cincinnati won for the sixth time in seven games to move above .500 for the first time this season at 38-37. The winning sequence started when Chris Heisey reached on a pinch-hit single with two outs and no one on base, snapping an 0-for-16 rut. "It was all set up by Chris Heisey fighting his way into that soft single and stealing second base," Reds manager Bryan Price said. It was the first homer allowed by Rondon since Aug. 1. "Not the way you kind of draw it out. We tried to let him work his way through it," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "Obviously it didnt work out." Jonathan Broxton (3-0) pitched a perfect eighth and Logan Ondrusek got three outs, helping the Reds improve to 30-11 against the Cubs over the last three seasons. Anthony Rizzo hit his 16th homer for the Cubs, who have lost three in a row. Jeff Samardzija struck out seven while pitching six innings of one-run ball. "All in all, I felt good, just needed a little improvement there early," Samardzija said. The Reds got off to a fast start behind Hamilton, who led off the game with a grounder just past second baseman Darwin Barney. The bouncer died in the grass in short right field and the speedy rookie hustled into second with a double, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. Todd Frazier followed with a drive into the gap in right-centre for an RBI triple. But Samardzija buckled down and kept Frazier at third, retiring Jay Bruce and Ryan Ludwick after he hit Mesoraco for the first time with one down. Chicago wasted a prime scoring chance in the fourth. Rizzo reached on a leadoff single before Starlin Castro doubled into the left field corner, putting runners on second and third. Alfredo Simon then retired three straight to preserve Cincinnatis 1-0 lead. Luis Valbuena flied out to medium right field, Welington Castillo hit a comebacker to the mound and Ryan Sweeney lined out to left. "I just tried to make my pitches the best I can, and everything was good," Simon said. The Cubs also wasted a leadoff double by Barney in the third. Samardzija broke his bat over his left knee after he popped up a sacrifice attempt. Simon allowed one run and five hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked one. Frazier finished with three hits and Mesoraco reached five times. He also walked twice before he connected in the ninth. "I felt good the first time that I was here. I felt good coming into this series," Mesoraco said. "You just try to ride them out as long as you can." NOTES: Reds 2B Brandon Phillips (bruised right heel) got the night off. Price said Phillips is day to day. ... Renteria said they are working on finalizing the starting pitchers for Saturdays doubleheader against Washington. ... Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (3-1, 1.98 ERA) will face RHP Homer Bailey (7-3, 4.68 ERA) in the second game of the three-game series Tuesday night. Arrieta is 2-0 with a sparkling 0.73 ERA in four starts this month. ... Sting led the crowd in the singing of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch. Jahlani Tavai Youth Jersey . Manager Ryan Nelsen has confirmed Brazilian No. 1 Julio Cesar will be rested for Wednesdays first leg of the semifinal. That opens the door for Bendik, who started 33 games for Toronto last season. Calvin Johnson Jersey . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line. http://www.shopdetroitlionsnfl.com/lions-barry-sanders-black-jersey/ . It was the start of one nice night for the goalie and the Minnesota Wild. Backstrom made 33 saves in his first win of the season and the Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Saturday in a rematch of their first-round playoff series. Kenny Golladay Youth Jersey . Prado stuck his glove down with Colorados Charlie Blackmon sliding into the bag, and quickly jumped back in pain after applying the tag. Prado held his left wrist as trainers came out of the Diamondbacks dugout to check him. Kerryon Johnson Womens Jersey . Its Wu-Tang and Outkast in the final. Now, we all know youve played the role of Andre 3000 in the past, does that mean Outkast is getting your vote?AJ: You know it, you know it.ATLANTA -- The Philadelphia Phillies have placed outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. on the bereavement list. Gwynns father, Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, died of cancer Monday. He was 54. Gwynn Jr. is hitting .155 in 52 games. He paid tribute to his father on his Twitter account: "Today I lost my Dad, my best friend and my mentor. Im gonna miss u so much pops. Im gonna do evverything in my power to continue to.dddddddddddd.. make u proud!" The team recalled outfielder Aaron Altherr from Double-A Reading before Monday nights game at the Braves. Altherr, born in Landstuhl, Germany, will be making his debut in the majors. He was hitting .245 with four homers and 23 RBIs at Reading. He has hit .405 in his last 10 games. ' ' '