CHICAGO -- Devin Mesoraco was hit by a pitch twice, in addition to the usual nicks that go along with being a catcher. [url=http

CHICAGO -- Devin Mesoraco was hit by a pitch twice, in addition to the usual nicks that go along with being a catcher. Mark Scheifele Jets Jersey . 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. Connor Hellebuyck Jersey .Dawson also birdied two of the last four holes to reach 12-under 132 on TPC San Antonios AT&T Canyons Course. He won his only title in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event in 2002 in the Web.com Tours LaSalle Bank Open.Im not going to lose any sleep, believe me, Dawson said. I used to be a perfectionist, but my attitude now is to play like Im in the pro-am. Kyle Connor Jersey .J. -- Travis Zajac of the New Jersey Devils took a lot of grief considering his scored the first of his career-best three goals just 12 seconds into a crucial game against the Florida Panthers. http://www.jetsauthentic.com/authentic-dale-hawerchuk-jets-jersey/ . He says he will have the operation Wednesday and be ready in time for training camp in September. Bernier missed five games in March due to the injury.Its not the first time that the New York Yankees have raided the Boston Red Sox for a free agent outfielder -- Johnny Damon comes to mind -- and the Bronx Bombers werent shy about offering big money for an outfielder that is a premier base stealer, when healthy. Numbers Game looks at the Yankees addition of Jacoby Ellsbury. The Yankees Get: CF Jacoby Ellsbury. Ellsbury, 30, has been a productive player when healthy, a career .297 hitter who has led the American League in steals three times. However, hes missed a lot of time -- 264 games to be precise -- over the last four seasons, which makes a long-term investment risky, particularly for a player on the north side of 30 years of age. While Ellsbury had a 32-home-run season in 2011, thats the only season of his career in which hes finished with more than 10 home runs so, even in new Yankee Stadium, which plays well to lefthanded hitters, its not likely that Ellsbury will be a significant power threat. He could hit double figures in home runs, but its a long way from 10 or 12 to 30-plus. But, a little power to go with tremendous base-stealing ability makes Ellsbury an asset offensively. Over the course of his career, he has stolen 241 bases in 287 attempts (83.9%), including a ridiculous 52 in 56 attempts (92.9%) last season. The question, on top of whether Ellsbury can stay healthy, is for how much longer can he be that top-of-the-order base-stealing threat? Is it three years? Five? Given Ellsburys speed on the bases, it should come as little surprise that he covers a lot of ground in centre field. Over the last four seasons, he ranks among the Top 10 centre fielders with 225 Defensive Runs Saved, while ranking sixth in Ultimate Zone Rating. Nikolaj Ehlers Jets Jersey. . Putting Ellsbury in centre field, moving Brett Gardner back to left field and Ichiro Suzuki in right will give the Yankees exceptional range in the outfield and ought to help their pitching staff to some degree. Despite his injuries, Ellsbury has accumulated a fWAR of 22.4 since 2008, which ranks fourth among centre fielders. The odds are that, over the course of the deal, there will be years that the Yankees regret because injury and/or age prevent Ellsbury from contributing like he has to this point in his career, but if there are five really good years in there, then that might be enough for the Yankees. A healthy Ellsbury improves their chances of returning to the postseason. The Red Sox are likely to move Shane Victorino to centre field to make up for the loss of Ellsbury and they could still be active in the free agent market looking for a corner outfielder. Additionally, prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. could be ready for another chance to stick as an every day player in the majors. Signed for seven years and $153-million, with an option for an eighth year that would run the contract to $169-million, Ellsbury is the latest in a long line of lucrative Yankees free agent signings, many of which have not panned out, but its only money and the Yankees generate enough of it that they can afford to swing and miss every so often, particularly with the chance to hit a proverbial home run. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '