s. "I kicked it and then another one jumped out of the insi

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. Wholesale Air Max . Phoenix got injured centre Emeka Okafor and a top-12-protected first-round draft pick in 2014 -- giving the rebuilding Suns potentially four choices in the opening round. The Suns also sent guards Kendall Marshall, Shannon Brown and Malcolm Lee to Washington so the deal will work financially. Cheap Air Max Uk Online . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. http://www.cheapairmaxuksale.com/.com) - Eric Fehrs goal 42 seconds into overtime lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Columbus, halting the Blue Jackets seven-game win streak. Cheap Air Max Online . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. Air Max Uk Cheap Online .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs.Professional football players are used to being graded for their on-field performances. Two members of the Toronto Argonauts are happy their recent off-field exploits werent under the same scrutiny. Kicker Swayze Waters and rookie long snapper Jake Reinhart took advantage of the recent bye week to explore the great outdoors. The trip was a resounding success, but at the same time it was almost worthy of the film Planes, Trains and Automobiles. On the surface it may seem like a curious pairing. Waters, a 27-year old from Jackson, Mississippi, is in his third season in the league, with a trio of NFL camps under his belt. Hes a household name among CFL fans. Reinhart, 24, was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, about 100 KM west of downtown Toronto. He finished his CIS career with his hometown Gryphons last year. Toiling in the relative obscurity of being a long snapper, hes a virtual unknown to even the most die-hard fans. The two first met a year ago when Reinhart, an undrafted free agent, attended Argo training camp before heading back for his final season with the Gryphons. The friendship blossomed this year when Reinhart made the double blue, replacing long-time long snapper Chad Rempel, who left the team to try out for the Chicago Bears of the NFL. The two became roommates on the road and coupled with the inordinate amount of time the duo spends together at practice, their friendship developed. The pair took advantage of the teams recent bye week by traveling to scenic Algonquin Park for a camping trip, borrowing a canoe from Reinharts brother. Algonquin Park is a paradise for those who love the outdoors. Established in 1893, Ontarios first provincial park covers 7,630 square KM, the southern border of which is about three hours north of Toronto. People travel from around the world to experience the parks lakes, rivers and wildlife. The Mississippi native, an outdoorsman at heart, had recently read a book entitled Wild At Heart by John Eldredge, which the deeply religious Waters said was inspirational on more than one level. "Its a biblical perspective on how God made men," confided Waters. "And how we all have this thing inside of us that loves the unknown and adventure. After I read it I was just really fired up." "Im an outdoors guy anyways," continued the kicker, "And I knew we had this off week coming up. I had heard some people talk about Algonquin and how beautiful it was up there." With Algonquin Parks thousands of interconnected lakes and streams, weeks or even months of preparation can be used to best plot out which waterways, campsites and portage routes should be taken to maximize the experience. How much time did the special teams twosome take to intricately plan this exploration of the wilds? "After the Hamilton game I told Jake Hey, lets go to Algonquin tomorrow," said Waters. "It was just one of those deals." "That was all Swayzes idea," laughed Reinhart, "But as soon as he said it I was right on board." The pair decided shortly after the conclusion of the game in Hamilton that the time was right to load up the Reinharts mothers minivan and head north. After the decision was confirmed at 10pm Monday night, they were on the road at 9am the next morning. The intentions were good. The execution lefft a lot to be desired.dddddddddddd. Certain questions were yet to be answered, including "Exactly where was Algonquin Park?" "We knew it was north," chuckled Waters. "We knew we had to take (highway) 400 to get there and thats about it," confessed Reinhart. So without maps, a plan, or anything other than a vague idea of how to get there, the dynamic duo headed toward their ultimate destination. They ended up in the town of Huntsville, where they received advice from some of the locals, then proceeded to hit the local department store to stock up for the excursion. It was there that they bought a camping grill, or so they believed. "We thought we had purchased the grill set," admitted Reinhart, "but it was really just pots and pans because we just looked on the package and there was a picture of a grill." Oops. So then it was off the check in at the park and get a permit. They finally caught a bit of a break. "We showed up at the gate at about 4:50 and they closed at 5:00," admitted Waters. "So I think they knew we didnt have a plan. They were laughing at us." Undaunted, the Argos version of Lewis and Clark proceeded. While portaging over steep, sometimes rocky, sometimes muddy terrain wasnt particularly enjoyable, the canoeing through the pristine waters and undisturbed wilderness more than made up for it. That said, the two didnt quite have the chemistry in the canoe that they enjoy on the field. "We definitely didnt go in a straight line," deadpanned Waters, "It took us a while to figure out our rhythm, but for the first half we were zigzagging our way through the lakes and the rivers." As the crow flies they canoed 52 KM and portaged another six, but the directionally challenged adventurers ended up paddling much, much further than that. Despite taking the scenic route - both literally and figuratively - the pair didnt spot any moose or bears. The did however come in contact with one form of wildlife that was very happy to see them. Mice, and lots of them. "The first night we showed up real late, it was really dark," said Waters. "We didnt really get to our camp until it was completely dark. We unloaded all of our stuff out of the canoe, I got the GoPro out and we were videotaping our site." "Im looking at the food bag and theres a mouse running up the side of it," continued Waters. "I kicked it and then another one jumped out of the inside of the bag. We had literally been there for two minutes." If Waters connected with the rodent the way he did with the football the day before, the mouse may not have come down yet. It didnt deter the pests though, as they tormented them throughout the night. The trip continued with hellacious portages, unplanned trips through swamps and of course the lack of a grill. At one time they thought their journey was going to be a disaster, but they persevered and would jump at the chance to do it all over again. "Id do it again for sure, said a smiling Reinhart. "Next time wed be more prepared. Wed go in with a better plan." The pair has an off-day in Calgary on Sunday following Saturdays game with the Stampeders. Theyre toying with the idea of canoeing down the Bow River. Lets hope they bring a map. ' ' '