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. Black Friday Shoes Deals . Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss. Wholesale Black Friday Shoes .com) - The Chicago Cubs reportedly signed recently-acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler to a one-year contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration. https://www.shoesblackfriday.com/ . You can watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 9pm et/6pm pt. Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden are expected to make their debuts for Team Canada. Black Friday Shoes China . Yet coming off consecutive series losses at St. Louis and Pittsburgh, Los Angeles needed some sort of spark as August approaches. The Dodgers found it in the ballpark of their biggest rival, and left the Bay Area in first place following an emphatic three-game swing. Black Friday Shoes Store .The result meant Juventus will spend the winter break three points clear of Roma after the league leader beat Cagliari 3-1 on Thursday.Milan remained seventh ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, but was provisionally two points behind third-place Napoli in their duel for the final Champions League spot. Toronto - TSN Radio 1050 will be the radio home of the Toronto Argonauts for a fourth season. New for this year, recently retired RB/FB Jeff Johnson joins voice of the Argos, Mike Hogan, in the booth as colour commentator for all Argonauts TSN Radio 1050 game broadcasts in 2014! "Our listeners love football and we are incredibly proud to back the Double Blue for another season," said Robert Gray, Program Director, TSN Radio. "Having Jeff Johnson join Mike Hogan in the booth gives us a talented and engaging broadcast team who will capture all of the action on and off the field all season long." The Toronto Argonauts weekly radio show, "Argos All Access" returns to the airwaves for its fourth straight year on TSN Radio 1050. The popular one-hour show will debut on Monday, June 23 at 7:00 p.m. ET and will cover all of the things Double Blue fans need to know about their team. As has become tradition, Argonauts General Manager Jim Barker will be live in-studio to kickoff this season. Once again every 2014 regular season Argonauts game will be carried on live radio or online. Commented Toronto Argonauts Senior Vice President, Business Operations, David Bedford, "As the radio home of the Argonauts, TSN Radio 1050 has consistently provided our fans with high quality broadcasts, insight, news and analysis. We were proud to help launch TSN Raddio 1050 in 2011 as its first sports property partner, and we are very excited to continue our relationship into 2014.dddddddddddd" Known to most as JJ, Johnson brings his breadth of CFL and Argos knowledge to the radio booth providing unquestioned access and insight. A career that spanned over 14 seasons - his first two as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2000-2001) and then 12 years in Toronto (2001-2013), Johnson played in 234 regular season CFL games, including 198 regular season games as an Argo which is good for fifth most in team history. He also dressed in 14 CFL playoff games, 11 as an Argonaut, and played in and won two Grey Cup championships, both as an Argo in 2004 and 2012. Every Monday, fans can tune in on their radio or stream via TSN1050.ca to get all of their latest news, interviews and insights as this years Argonauts team seeks another Grey Cup. This years shows will feature interviews with Argonauts players and coaches, fan engagement, as well as analysis from CFL on TSN insiders and other CFL Insiders who will talk Double Blue shop. The Argonauts host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a pre-season bout at home on Thursday, June 19 at 7:00 p.m. at Varsity Stadium. Torontos home opener is scheduled for Saturday, July 5 at Rogers Centre as the Argos play host to the defending Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders. ' ' '