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#SportsReport: Porcello's Bat, Arm Lead BoSox Past Nats

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Rick Porcello

MLB

Rick Porcello doesn't get many chances to go to the plate, but the Boston pitcher made the most of one of his few opportunities last night to help the Red Sox take the opener of their series in Washington.

Porcello had been 5-for-32 in his career before lining a three-run double off Max Scherzer in the second inning of the Bosox's 4-3 victory over the Nationals. The double came in handy once he surrendered solo homers by Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy.

Mookie Betts hit a solo shot to give the Red Sox a 4-2 lead in the seventh and help Porcello improve to 10-3. Porcello gave up two runs and seven hits over six innings.

Scherzer became the 11th pitcher to record at least 1,000 strikeouts for two different teams. But he also fell to 10-5 and has lost four straight decisions in a single season for the first time since 2008, his rookie season. The series continues Tuesday at 6:05 p.m.

Boston has regained a one-game lead in the AL East following the Yankees' 5-3, 11-inning loss to the Braves. Rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. launched a two-run homer off David Robertson in the 11th as Atlanta hiked its lead in the NL East to four games over Philadelphia and 7 ½ over Washington.

Acuna also had an RBI double and Johan Camargo homered in the Braves' fourth consecutive win. Game 2 of the 3 game series is Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.

Checking out Monday's other major league action:

The Brewers rallied from a 5-1 deficit and beat the Twins, 6-5 on Brad Miller's bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th. Manny Pina homered to spark Milwaukee's three-run fifth and scored the walk-off run as the NL Central leaders moved one game ahead of the Cubs. Miller had two RBIs and the Brewers overcame Robbie Grossman's grand slam to end a three-game losing streak.

The Cardinals' four-game losing streak is over after Yadier Molina hit a solo homer and drove in three to help St. Louis double up the Diamondbacks, 6-3. Jedd Gyorko also hit a solo shot and finished with two RBIs to back Carlos Martinez, who gave up two runs while striking out seven over six innings.

The Dodgers set season highs for runs and hits in a 17-1 clobbering of the Pirates, putting Los Angeles within 1 ½ games of the NL West-leading Diamondbacks. Matt Kemp belted a three-run homer in a six-run fifth, collected four RBIs for the second straight game and matched a career high by providing five of the Dodgers' 21 hits. Joc Pederson and Max Muncy hit back-to-back homers and Cody Bellinger went deep to help Alex Wood even his record at 5-5.

Brandon Crawford's throwing error at shortstop allowed Charlie Blackmon to score the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning of the Rockies' 5-2 verdict over the Giants. Colorado also scored runs on a bases-loaded walk, a double-play grounder, a sacrifice fly by Blackmon and Tom Murphy's RBI double. Kyle Freeland allowed two runs and just three hits over seven innings as the Rockies dealt San Francisco its second loss in nine games.

Francisco Lindor collected seven RBIs with two swings of the bat, smacking a grand slam and a three-run homer as the Indians trounced the Royals, 9-3. Corey Kluber spotted Kansas City a 2-0 lead in the first inning before improving to 12-4, yielding three runs over six innings. Rajai Davis was 3-for-3 with three runs scored as Cleveland stretched its lead in the AL Central to 9 ½ games over the Detroit.

The Tigers have a two-game winning streak since an 11-game skid after Niko Goodrum tripled and scored the winning run in the 10th inning of Detroit's 3-2 decision over Toronto. Jose Iglesias provided a tiebreaking, sacrifice fly, one inning after Tigers reliever Joe Jimenez walked Justin Smoak with the bases loaded to knot the score. Nick Castellanos scored two runs and Jeimer Candelario had three hits for the Tigers.

The Marlins pulled out a 3-2 win over the Rays on Yadiel Rivera's RBI single in the bottom of the 10th. Miami was one out from a regulation victory until C.J. Cron doubled home the tying run. J.T. Realmuto hit a solo homer and Wei-Yin Chen allowed an unearned run and three hits over six innings before settling for a no-decision.

The Reds won for the 12th time in 15 games by scoring four times in the eighth inning to rally past the White Sox, 5-3. Alex Blandino delivered the tiebreaking, two-run double following a run-scoring fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly. Scott Schebler homered for Cincinnati, which is one game over .500 under interim manager Jim Riggleman after opening the season 3-15 with Bryan Price at the helm.

The New York Mets had the night off as they head to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays Tuesday at 7:07 p.m.

In other MLB news:

The Diamondbacks have A.J. Pollock in their lineup for the first time since breaking his left thumb while diving for a ball in the outfield against Milwaukee on May 14. Pollock got off to a strong start this season, hitting.293 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs in 40 games before the injury. He was expected to be out before the All-Star break.

Indians right-hander Danny Salazar will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He will not be able to throw for at least three months while he recovers. There is no definitive timetable on when he'll pitch again.

The Twins have reinstated shortstop Jorge Polanco following his 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Minnesota also have recalled right-hander Zack Littell from Triple-A Rochester among several moves before their game at Milwaukee.

Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell has been sentenced to two years of probation on a disorderly conduct charge. His sentencing Monday came nearly three months after he pleaded guilty to the charge in a gun-related incident. Police say Maxwell had pointed a handgun at a woman who delivered food to his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, in October.

NBA

LeBron James has become the Pied Piper of Los Angeles as the Lakers continue to stockpile free-agent talent. Meanwhile, the city of Cleveland is lamenting his loss.

A person with knowledge of the situation says point guard Rajon Rondo has agreed to sign a one-year contract with the Lakers, while another person confirmed that L.A has given center JaVale McGee a one-year package worth just under $2.4 million.

ESPN says the Lakers will pay Rondo $9 million after he averaged 8.3 points and 8.2 assists for New Orleans last season.

In Cleveland, the massive LeBron James banner hanging downtown is being removed again following the superstar's announcement he's leaving the Cavaliers for the Lakers. It was also removed in 2010 when he decided to join the Miami Heat.

In other NBA news:

DeMarcus (Boogie) Cousins will be ready to play at some point this season. When he is, the two-time defending NBA champions will be waiting. Adding a fifth All-Star to their already glitzy lineup, the Golden State Warriors have come to terms with Cousins on a one-year, $5.3 million deal — not the biggest money move on Day 2 of the NBA free agency period, but the most intriguing. The low-risk, high-reward deal was confirmed by two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because nothing can yet be signed.

A person with knowledge of the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Derrick Favors and the Utah Jazz have worked out a two-year contract that could be worth up to $36 million, Favors averaged 12.3 points last season for the Jazz, who reached the Western Conference semifinals. The eight-year veteran has played the last seven seasons with the Jazz, averaging 12.1 points and 7.4 rebounds.

A person familiar with the decision says the Philadelphia 76ers and guard J.J. Redick have agreed to a one-year contract. Redick averaged a career-high 17.1 points and shot 42 percent from 3-point range last season, his first with the Sixers. He has averaged 16 points over the last five seasons, hitting 41.5% of his 3-point attempts.

A person with knowledge of the situation says that Suns owner Robert Sarver and general manager Ryan McDonough will meet Tuesday with star guard Devin Booker to discuss a new contract. The 21-year-old Booker is considered the heart of the Suns' plans for the future and a strong candidate for a maximum contract.

Golden State first-round draft pick Jacob Evans III has signed his contract and is set to play in the summer league with the two-time reigning NBA champions.

TENNIS

Roger Federer has begun his latest Wimbledon title defense with a dominant win over Dusan Lajovic. The eight-time champion needed just 79 minutes to complete a 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 victory over the Serbian.

The top-seeded Federer won nine straight games once the 58th-ranked Lajovic held serve in the opener.

Third seed Marin Cilic, eighth seed Kevin Anderson, No. 9 John Isner and No. 11 Sam Querrey also won their opening-round matches in straight sets, as did 13th seed Milos Raonic.

Unseeded Stan Wawrinka showed the form that earned his three Grand Slam titles by surprising No. 6 Grigor Dimitrov in four sets after dropping the opener, 1-6.

American Sloane Stephens was the highest seed to fall. Donna Vekic cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 rout of the fourth-seeded Stephens. Fifth seed Elina Svitolina also lost, knocked out by Tatjana Maria after winning a first-set tiebreaker. American and 16th seed Coco Vandeweghe was shown the door by Katerina Siniakova.

Serena Williams advanced to the second round of the women's side, but she needed six match points before finishing off Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, 7-5, 6-3. Ninth seed Venus Williams also took her opening-round match, as did 10th seed Madison Keys, second seed Caroline Wozniaki, No. 7 Karolina Pliskova and No. 13 Julia Georges.

SOCCER

Brazil and Belgium have advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals and will square off Friday in Kazan, Russia.

Neymar had a goal and an assist as the Brazilians blanked Mexico, 2-0. Neymar has 11 goals and nine assists in his last 19 games for Brazil.

Belgium erased a two-goal deficit before substitute Nacer Chaldi scored in the fourth minute of injury time to give his country a 3-2 win over Japan. Jan Vertonghen scored in the 69th minute and substitute Marouane Fellaini headed in another from Eden Hazard's cross in the 74th to knot the score.

In Tuesday’s World Cup action at Sweden takes on Switzerland at 10 a.m. EST and Colombia takes on England at 2 p.m. EST

NHL

The Calgary Flames have added a much-needed scorer to their lineup by signing forward James Neal to a five-year deal worth $28.75 million.

Neal is coming off a run to the Stanley Cup Final with the Vegas Golden Knights, putting up 25 goals and 44 points in 71 regular-season games before adding six goals and 11 points in 20 postseason games.

The 30-year-old winger has reached the 20-goal mark in each of his 10 NHL seasons and produced a career-high 40 goals in 2011-12.

Also in the NHL:

A California judge has dismissed a misdemeanor domestic abuse conviction against former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov. The decision could clear a path for Voynov's return to the NHL. Deputy NHL Commissioner Bill Daly tells The Associated Press that Voynov can now petition for reinstatement.

© 2018 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.