Reds 6 - 4 Diamondbacks
Final
  for this game

Mesoraco hits 2 HRs as Reds top Diamondbacks

May 31, 2014 - 5:54 AM Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Devin Mesoraco smoked a pair of home runs, including the second grand slam of his career, as the Cincinnati Reds held off the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-4, on Friday at Chase Field.

Todd Frazier had a pair of hits and scored twice for the Reds, who bounced back from Thursday's 4-0 shutout in the opener of this four-game set. Cincinnati had lost five of six before tonight.

Mike Leake (3-4) allowed four runs -- three earned -- on six hits over six innings to break his string of three consecutive winless decisions. Leake hadn't won a game since April 15 against Pittsburgh.

Aroldis Chapman struck out two in the ninth to record his sixth save.

Gerardo Parra, Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Hill all drove in runs for Arizona, while A.J. Pollock went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in the setback.

Former Reds starter Bronson Arroyo (4-4), who led the league in starts over his eight seasons in Cincinnati, took the loss after surrendering five runs on nine hits over seven innings.

"It was kind of a different chess match tonight because there's a lot of known information prior to starting the game," said Arroyo.

Arizona manufactured the game's first run, as Pollock led off the first with a single and stole second. Two batters later, Goldschmidt grounded out to shortstop and Pollock sprinted home.

The lead quickly vanished. Three straight singles off Arroyo to start the top of the second inning loaded the bases for Mesoraco, who got all of a hanging breaking ball on the first pitch he saw and took it out to left.

"It was nice to get a 4-1 lead," said Leake. "It definitely helped me relax a little bit and allow me to attack the hitters a bit more."

The D-backs got two back in the third. Leake retired Ender Inciarte and Arroyo before Pollock extended the inning, reaching second base following Todd Frazier's error. Parra plated Pollock with a single and took second on the throw home, allowing him to score on another Frazier error on Goldschmidt's grounder.

Roger Bernadina's RBI double to center in the sixth made it 5-3, but Arizona stayed within striking distance with a run in the bottom half of the frame on Hill's RBI single.

Pollock's double in the seventh off Sam LeCure was Arizona'a last hit, however, as Jonathan Broxton and Chapman each faced the minimum to preserve the victory.

Mesoraco hit a solo shot in the ninth for the final tally.

Game Notes

Cincinnati leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton stole his 19th bag of the season ... Mesoraco now has 25 RBI in 26 games this season ... Arizona went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.






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