CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo called his first two at-bats a battle. John Riggins Womens Jersey . The last one was a whole lot better. The first baseman capped his return to the Cubs lineup with a walk-off home run in the ninth inning that gave Chicago a 1-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night. Rizzo had missed the last 18 games due to a back problem but led off the ninth by driving a 1-0 pitch from Pedro Villarreal (0-1) over the wall in centre field. Rizzos homer was his 31st of the season and gave Hector Rondon (4-4) the win after he pitched a scoreless inning of relief. "The game is over (with) one swing of the bat, and its a good feeling," Rizzo said. Thanks to the end of the minor-league season, Rizzo didnt get a chance to go on a rehab assignment before returning to work off some rust. It showed when he struck out against Alfredo Simon in his first two at-bats. He was credited with an infield single in the sixth. In the ninth, Rizzo looked as though he had never left. "He certainly made the adjustment in his last at-bat," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. Chicago starter Travis Wood didnt get run support and couldnt earn his ninth win despite producing one of his best outings. Wood threw six scoreless innings and allowed three hits. Simon gave up five hits in seven innings. The Reds right-hander, who is 3-0 against the Cubs this season, was a pleasant first-half surprise but had been struggling recently. He was 2-7 with a 4.96 ERA in the second half before a strong outing on Monday. "This is my first season with the Reds to be a starter and I want to show them I can be a starter for a real long time here," Simon said. "I try to finish strong." He might have earned a win if Cubs centre fielder Arismendy Alcantara didnt run down Kristopher Negrons drive to right-centre with two outs in the eighth when speedy Billy Hamilton was on first. "The ball that Negron hit, he absolutely crushed that ball out to right-centre," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "Alcantara made a great catch." Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler went 1 for 3 after he missed a weekend series in Pittsburgh due to the birth of a child. TRAINERS ROOM Reds: 1B Joey Votto took infield during pregame warmups but didnt take part in batting practice. Votto (left quadriceps) hasnt played for the Reds since July 5 but did take underhand flips in a batting cage on Sunday. Cubs: Renteria said SS Starlin Castro (sprained left ankle) is improving but "hes not likely to be able to come back" this season. Renteria also said starting pitcher Edwin Jackson (right lat strain) will throw a simulated game this week. UP NEXT Reds: RHP Johnny Cueto and Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta will face off on Tuesday. Cueto (18-8) will attempt to match Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw for the most wins in baseball this season. Cueto is 5-1 with a 1.84 ERA in his last nine starts against the Cubs. Arrieta (8-5) leads the Cubs with a 2.82 ERA. MINOR MATTERS The Cubs named Single-A Kane Countys Jen-Ho Tseng their minor league pitcher of the year, and Triple-A Iowas Kris Bryant their player of the year. Chicago general manager Jed Hoyer said "its way too early to speculate" whether Bryant will make next seasons opening day roster. YOUTH MOVEMENT Recent call-ups SS Jake Elmore, RF Yorman Rodriguez and LF Jason Bourgeois were in the lineup as part of a look-see for some of Cincinnatis younger players. "This is a great opportunity for them to play and for us to get a little more evaluation time before spring training in 2015," Price said. Charley Taylor Jersey . Simona Halep of Romania claimed the fifth title of her career by beating Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the womens final. After trading sets, Gasquet trailed 4-3 in the decider but broke back to 4-4 in a game that went to seven deuces with Kukushkin constantly failing on his forehand shots. Art Monk Youth Jersey .J. -- Patrick Sharp is on one of those streaks. https://www.redskinssportsgoods.com/Womens-John-Riggins-Inverted-Jersey/ . The England international raised his middle finger toward Manchester City supporters during Saturdays game at Etihad Stadium, which Arsenal lost 6-3. The incident was not seen by match officials at the time but the FA charged Wilshere retrospectively after a study of video footage.NEW YORK -- It was advantage Rangers on Saturday in the off-ice gamesmanship that is running parallel to the Eastern Conference final between New York and Montreal. There has been no shortage of storylines in this series, which has already featured one surgery and two suspensions in three games. And with two days off between Games 3 and 4, the old adage that idle hands are the devils workshop was proved true at Madison Square Garden when two New York assistant coaches showed up to watch Montreal practise. The intrusion seemed squarely aimed at getting under Montreals skin. When Canadiens goalie coach Stephane Waite noticed the break in protocol, he told head coach Michel Therrien. As the players stretched, Therrien moved down the rink and had words with Rangers assistant Ulf Samuelsson. Observers said the exchange was somewhat prickly. Samuelsson, no stranger to antagonizing rivals during his playing days, and fellow assistant coach Dan Lacroix left soon after. Therrien told reporters later there was a "gentlemans agreement" that rival coaches dont attend practices on non-game days. The idea is to allow coaches to make changes or test out new strategies in private. "When we saw those assistant coaches there, they were not supposed to be there, so we let them know," Therrien said pithily. New York president and GM Glen Sather watched the practice from one of the top rows of the lower bowl at Madison Square Garden, seemingly more interested in his phone than what was happening on the ice. Game 4 is Sunday night. The Rangers lead the series two games to one. While coaches seemed hot and bothered over the presence of the Rangers coaches, Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban was oblivious. "I get in trouble when Im looking up in the stands," he said, drawing laughs. The Canadiens, coming off a bitter seven-game battle with their rival Bruins, are finding themselves down and dirty again in the trenches with the Rangers. The series has already left an ugly trail. Montreals Brandon Prust has been suspended two games for the Game 3 hit that broke Derek Stepans jaw. Rangers agitator Dan Carcillo has been banned for 10 games for jostling a linesman in the wake of the Prust hit. And Stepan was recovering in hospital Saturday from surgery to repair his jaw. Carcillo has requested that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman review the 10-game suspension, according to the NHL Players Association. "I think its building," Habs forward Brendan Gallagher said of the animosity between the two teams, which he has helped grow by throwing his five-foot-nine, 180-pound body around with reckless abandon. "Last game, it certainly took a big step forward," he added. Gallagher looks like his mum still packs him a lunch. But he is fearless, a hockey Smurf full of grit and attitude. While his assistants were stirring the pot Saturday, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault -- the picture of calm normally -- was still burning over the missed call on the Prust hit and the domino-effect mayhem that ensued. "At the end of the day if the right call is made on the ice, that whole situation doesnt happen," he lamented. The war of words continued on the Rangers website, which noted Stepan was New Yorks second-leading playoff scorer while fourth-liner Prustt "has had trouble keeping up with the speedy Rangers through the first three games of this series. Derrius Guice Jersey. " The good news for Vigneault was word that Derick Brassard is healthy. The New York centre left early in Game 1 with an upper body injury after being checked by Canadiens defenceman Mike Weaver and has not played since. Brassard told reporters after practice that he was good to go. That brought a smile to the face of Vigneault. "I was told he cleared himself," Vigneault said with a laugh. "Thats good to know. He didnt tell me." As one might expect, Vigneault said Stepan was "unlikely" to play Sunday. The 23-year-old centre has not missed a game since coming into the league in the 2010-11 season. Carcillo declined to speak to reporters Saturday. But Vigneault said the player knew he needed to have kept control of himself. "I cant begin to tell you how bad he feels about the whole thing," the coach said. "His situation, his personal future, the team. Theres nothing he can do about it now and theres nothing we can do about it." Forward Brad Richards called the abrasive Carcillo "a great teammate." "I heard a lot about him before but I dont have one bad thing to say about him." The New York players, for the most part, had little to say about the length of the ban to Prust, a former Ranger. But goalie Henrik Lundqvist said that hot spots in the playoffs usually cool down in the off-season. "Especially during the playoffs, you dont see your opponents as friends, even though youve played with them. Right now I dont have any friends in Montreal," the stylish Swede said with a chuckle. "Theyre just enemies and you play it that way. Thats your approach. "But you also have to understand this game, you know, theres a lot of players that play on the edge. Thats their role, thats what they do. Theyre always going to play it like that and sometimes things happen and maybe they take it a little too far. As it comes to relationships, as friends, in the summertime you move past it. "But right now, do I like what happened? Absolutely not. But its on the ice, it happens on the ice. It is what it is." Michael Bournival slotted into Prusts place on Montreals fourth line in practice. Francis Bouillon was skating in place of Nathan Beaulieu on defence. Subban and other Habs said, despite the Game 3 overtime win, the Canadiens have more in the tank. "I dont think weve played our best hockey yet this series," said Subban. And they acknowledged that they cannot rely on young goalie Dustin Tokarskis heroics, as they did last time out. "We now we cant expect him to do that every game, so we want to be better in front of him," said Canadiens captain Brian Gionta. On the Rangers side, J.T. Miller was skating in place of Carcillo on the fourth line with Derek Dorsett and Brian Boyle. New York gave winger Chris Kreider a "maintenance day" off. That meant Dominic Moore skated with Rick Nash and Jesper Fast, filling in for Kreider. NOTES: Game 4 will be shown at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Canadiens officials say more than 20,000 tickets have already been snapped up. ' ' '