Reds 6, Cubs 1: Billy Hamilton singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the ninth and Devin Mesoraco belted his third career grand slam later in the inning as visiting Cincinnati rolled past Chicago in the opener of a three-game series.

Chris Heisey singled off Hector Rondon (1-2) and stole second before scoring on Hamilton’s grounder up the middle, and the Reds added four insurance runs when Mesoraco homered for the fourth straight game. Jonathan Broxton (3-0) earned the win after working a scoreless eighth inning for Cincinnati, which has won six of its last eight.

The Reds took an early lead when Hamilton doubled to begin the game and Todd Frazier followed with a run-scoring triple off Jeff Samardzija, who allowed one run on four hits while striking out seven over six frames. Samardzija lowered his ERA to 2.53 while retiring 10 of the last 11 batters he faced for the Cubs, who lost their third straight.

Chicago pulled even in the sixth on Anthony Rizzo’s one-out homer into the left-field seats off Alfredo Simon, who yielded one run on five hits while throwing 111 pitches over seven innings. Rizzo had two hits for the Cubs, who have scored a total of five runs during their losing streak.

Hamilton extended his career-high hitting streak to 11 games for Cincinnati, which had two on and one out in the eighth before Pedro Strop struck out Jay Bruce and Ryan Ludwick grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the threat. Frazier went 3-for-5 to help the Reds move over .500 for the first time this season at 38-37.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Reds 2B Brandon Phillips missed the game with a bruised right heel and is listed as day-to-day. … Mesoraco’s homer was the first allowed by Rondon since last Aug. 1, a stretch of 48 innings. … Mesoraco was hit by a pitch twice and walked in his other two plate appearances before his ninth-inning homer.