Gästebuch » The Reds got off to a fast start behind Hamilton

CHICAGO -- Devin Mesoraco was hit by a pitch twice, in addition to the usual nicks that go along with being a catcher. Athletics Jerseys China . 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. Oakland Athletics Store . -- Augusta James of Bath, Ont. Oakland Athletics Gear .twitter.com/TeZD3KOvlA — Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) September 24, 2014 Sorry for the delay, we just got back from lunch at Papa Vons #NBAFastFood pic. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ . Torres calmly stroked a 51st-minute spot kick down the middle with goalkeeper Romel Quinonez diving right to convert a penalty earned by Javi Martinez. Spain controlled play at the Sanchez Pizjuan but found it hard to convert against a well-organized Bolivian team before Iniesta charged forward to curl around Quinonez in the 84th to seal victory.Novak Djokovic twice came from behind to defeat Rafael Nadal in straight sets in their Rome Masters quarter-final. A 7-5 7-6 (7-4) win means the world No 1 will now advance into Saturdays semi-finals where he will play sixth seed Kei Nishikori who beat Dominic Thiem 6-3 7-5, while Andy Murray will face lucky loser Lucas Pouille.Nadal had his chances to end a six-match losing streak against Djokovic but wasted a break advantage in the first set, then missed five set-point chances in the second. Novak Djokovics set point in the opener was majestic... Djokovic recovered from a break down to secure the opener in dramatic fashion. Nadal initially went 4-2 up against the serve, largely thanks to a drop shot that found a home three times in the early stages.Mid-way through the set, Djokovic began finding his rhythm and threatened with some trademark returns from the back of the court. He held a 10-minute game to remain 3-4 down before more excellent work from the back of the court earned Djokovic a break of his own.Djokovic led 6-5 heading into the final game but defeated Nadals serve in a pulsating manner. Fake Athletics Jerseys. Another Nadal drop shot had him on course for 6-6, but Djokovic converted his fourth set point by winning an astonishing rally. Novak Djokovic lost his cool and threw his racket Nadal then crucially failed to convert five set points to force a decider. Leading 5-4 in the second set having broken Djokovics first service game, Nadal continued to put himself on the brink but could not cross the line.Djokovic saved all five set points and remarkably broke back before winning a thrilling tie-break 7-4 in a memorable demonstration of grit and athleticism from both players.Current Rome Masters champion Djokovic now has a 26-23 head-to-head record against Nadal.Watch the Rome semi-finals on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 3 HD from 1.30pm. 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