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WASHINGTON — A pair of old friends will reconnect when the Boston Red Sox visit the Washington Nationals on Monday night.

Former teammates Rick Porcello (9-2 Russell Bodine Jersey Elite , 3.60) of the Red Sox and Max Scherzer (10-4, 2.04) square off for the first time in the opener of a three-game series.

Porcello and Scherzer spent five seasons together with the Detroit Tigers, reaching the 2012 World Series before losing to the San Francisco Giants.

Since leaving Detroit, Porcello won the 2016 American League Cy Young Award and Scherzer is making a strong case for his third straight National League Cy Young. Both have been aware this matchup was coming.

“Looking forward to it. We’ve been texting back and forth,” Porcello told the Boston Globe. “We’ve had a good time with it and I’m sure we’ll both get a kick about going against each other once the game starts.”

Scherzer is looking for his first win since June 5, though he’s pitched well enough to win each of his past four starts Authentic Will Dissly Jersey Elite Womens Youth Big&Tall Nike Seattle Seahawks NFL Shop Free Shipping , allowing two earned runs or less in each outing. The Nationals are 1-3 in those starts and were shut out in each loss.

“I think everybody’s been punched in the face before of not having success,” Scherzer told The Washington Post after his last start, a 1-0 loss to the Marlins. “This is the big leagues; they are going to keep coming down your throat and keep attacking you.”

Scherzer, Washington’s only dependable starter of late, is 4-4 with a 6.05 ERA in 10 starts versus Boston.

Porcello allowed four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings last time out in a no-decision against the Angels.

He’s 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in his lone start against Washington, an eight-inning effort in April of 2015.

The Nationals (42-40) squandered an early 3-0 lead in Philadelphia on Sunday and fell 4-3 in 13 innings on Andrew Knapp’s pinch-hit walk-off home run as Washington dropped a second straight weekend series to their division rivals.

Washington managed only four hits in eight innings against the Philadelphia bullpen in the finale.

“Offensively Authentic Richard Rodgers Jersey Elite Womens Youth Big&Tall Nike Philadelphia Eagles NFL Shop Free Shipping , we’ve got to do more,” outfielder Adam Eaton told The Post. “That’s plain and simple. We score early and then we can’t coast. We can’t take our foot off the accelerator. We got to keep going.”

The Nationals are now 6-15 in their past 21 games and fell six games behind Atlanta in the NL East.

In each of their last nine losses, they’ve scored three or fewer runs.

“We’ve got to start striking out less,” manager Dave Martinez told MASN, “putting the balls in play, driving in runs when we have the ability to drive in runs.”

Boston (56-29) finished a three-game series against the Yankees on a forgettable note Sunday night Cheap Daryl Worley Jersey , getting routed 11-1 behind starter David Price as New York blasted six home runs, including three by Aaron Hicks.

Price allowed eight runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.

The Red Sox dropped two of three and travel south percentage points behind the Yankees in the AL East.
Kicker Dustin Hopkins has re-signed with the Washington Redskins, and backup offensive tackle Ty Nsekhe was given a second-round tender worth about $2.9 million.

The Redskins announced both moves Monday.

Hopkins has made 73 of 87 field-goal attempts in three seasons, putting him at 83.9 percent, which ranks second in franchise history among kickers with at least 50 tries. His career-long kick is 54 yards.

He's also made 94.9 percent of extra points, going 93 of 98.

Hopkins missed half of last season with a strained hip muscle. He went 14 of 17 on field-goal attempts and 18 of 19 on extra points.

The 6-foot-8 Jeremiah Attaochu Jersey 49ers , 338-pound Nsekhe has made 11 starts in the NFL and appeared in a total of 42 games. The 32-year-old tackle started five of the last six games last season.
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