Rick Porcello surpasses Max Scherzer on a mound, at the marble

The Monday night clash at the Nationals Park featured more than two friends and former teammates. Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello were the two best friends of the team and the two former teammates of the team. . But fans did not expect that a hit from Porcello played a role in the winner's choice.

Porcello scored a Scherzer double that scored as many points as the Nationals will score all night. Combined with his strong night on the mound, Porcello propelled the Red Sox to a 4-3 win, and may have put a temporary effort on his friendship with Scherzer, to boot.

Scherzer did not have his best command on the display, though he managed a run of nine strikeouts, four hits and three earned runs in six innings in the loss.

Porcello allowed seven hits in six innings and withdrew five, but limited the offense to just two runs earned off a pair of solo home runs by Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy. Apart from these two throws, Porcello did not allow a National to reach third base.

The Nationals have now lost four of Scherzer's last five starts with little running support to support him. Scherzer (10-5) has not had a winning decision since June 5, which defused his good start to the season.

It was just the top of the second run when the first Scherzer-Porcello showdown took place. Scherzer had already allowed Mitch Moreland to make a single and Brock Holt to walk. Sandy Leon hit wild ground, meaning the riders advanced as the first base remained open.

Then Scherzer, working with two outs, intentionally led Jackie Bradley Jr. to raise Porcello. It was the first pitch of the American league season and the 36th career appearance. The argument could be that it was the right strategy for Scherzer on paper

But after two strikes, Porcello charged his former teammate by pinging a field in depth, on Juan's head Soto, to clear the bases. Porcello, .156's life-time drummer before Monday, has won the first extra-basic success of his career and his only points produced since 2009.

Scherzer worked until the start of the third inning, although # 39, he did not allow a race then, and had thrown 73 throws before his first au-bat in the bottom of that inning. He founded in Porcello, of all people – and would do exactly the same thing in the fifth inning.

Scherzer recovered Porcello by hitting him in fourth and sixth. And when Scherzer eliminated Andrew Benintendi for the third time of the night, he scored the 1000th withdrawal of the thrower as National, a nice footnote for an otherwise disappointing night.

Boston maintained his narrow lead the rest of the night. Mookie Betts dominated Brandon Kintzler as soon as Scherzer left the match. Bryce Harper scored his 21st circuit of the year in the eighth inning, but the rest of the attack was short.

Prior to Monday's game, Porcello told the Boston Globe that he was "honored" to be Scherzer's friend. They played together in the Tigers rotation from 2010 to 2014, and when they won the Cy Young and AL Youngs in 2016, they celebrated the bar after accepting the awards in New York.