AROUND THE HORN

Nationals: RHP Max Scherzer allowed one unearned run and struck out 11 in eight innings on his 34th birthday, and the Nationals beat the Marlins 9-1 on Friday night. OF Juan Soto homered, tripled and drove in three runs, 1B Matt Adams had three hits and two RBIs and OF Bryce Harper drove in two for the Nationals, who beat the Marlins for the 16th time in 17 games.

Red Sox: OF Mookie Betts homered on the first pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Red Sox to a 4-3 win over the Twins. 3B Rafael Devers hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings after the Twins had gone ahead in the top of the ninth.

Pirates: INF David Freese went 3-for-3 with two walks and drove in five runs as the Pirates defeated the Mets 5-4 for their 12th win in 14 games. Freese homered and had a game-winning RBI single in the ninth.

Indians: SS Francisco Lindor hit two of the Indians’ four home runs as they broke through in the final two innings to beat the Tigers 8-3. 1B Yonder Alonso and OF Brandon Guyer also went deep for the American League Central leader, which improved to 29-13 vs. division opponents.

Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw struck out eight in 72⁄ innings and hit a two-run single in the fourth to help the Dodgers beat the Braves 4-1. Kershaw is 4-0 with a 1.43 ERA in 10 career starts against the Braves.

Reds: OF Mason Williams hit a three-run homer to snap a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning, and the Reds’ bullpen made it stand up in a 6-4 win over the Phillies.

Yankees, Royals: Friday’s game between the Royals and Yankees was postponed because of rain. The game never started and was called a half-hour after it was supposed to begin. It will be made up Saturday as part of a split doubleheader.

Diamondbacks: Switch-hitting INF Eduardo Escobar was acquired from the Twins for minorleague RHP Jhoan Duran and OFs Gabriel Maciel and Ernie De La Trinidad.