OWINGS MILLS Trysten Hill Jersey , Md. (AP) — On a day designed to honor Haloti Ngata’s retirement as a member of the Ravens, his former coach in Baltimore stole a portion of the limelight.Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti welcomed both Ngata and Brian Billick into the team’s prestigious Ring of Honor, announcing Wednesday that Billick will be inducted in 2019 and Ngata in 2020.Ngata was drafted out of Oregon as the 12th overall pick in 2006. The first NFL coach he played for was Billick, who guided the Ravens from 1999-2007 and hoisted the Super Bowl trophy after the 2000 season.Billick compiled a 80-64 record but was fired by Bisciotti after Baltimore staggered to a 5-11 finish in 2007. It took 12 years, but Bisciotti figured the time was right to finally recognize the 65-year-old Billick for his contribution to the franchise.“I told Brian how honored we would be, and how lucky we are as an organization, to have had him here,” Bisciotti said.Ngata, 35, will also have his name emblazoned on the Ravens’ home stadium, a suitable salute to a five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle who made a name for himself on a defense that included future Hall of Fame entrants Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.As a star-struck rookie, Ngata recalled with a chuckle his first encounter with Lewis at training camp.“Ray said, ‘I called you Connor McGovern Jersey , you didn’t answer, what’s up?’ I froze, I didn’t know what to say, you know, when you meet your heroes,” Ngata said. “I just told him, ‘I’m so sorry, Mr. Lewis, I’ll call you next time.'”Lewis informed Ngata that he could call him Ray.Ngata and Lewis teamed with Reed and others to win the Super Bowl in 2012. After the 2014 season, Ngata and then-general manager Ozzie Newsome became embroiled in a salary dispute, a prelude to a trade that sent the 320-pound lineman to the Detroit Lions.“At first I was kind of shocked a little bit,” Ngata said. “But I understood. I was against the salary cap. I wasn’t moving and they weren’t budging.”Ngata toiled three seasons in relative anonymity in Detroit before closing out his 13-year career in Philadelphia in 2018.“The last month of the season I woke up and thought, ‘Why am I still doing this?'” he said. “Once I’m questioning why I’m playing football Foster Moreau Jersey , I know it’s time to retire.”It was important to Ngata that his NFL career would end where he started it.Wiping away tears, Ngata told an audience of family, friends, former teammates and fans, “This is an amazing organization. I loved being a Raven. I always knew I wanted to retire as a Raven. I just couldn’t wait to come back.”Ngata was twice an All-Pro. He had 32 ½ sacks, five interceptions and seven forced fumbles over 180 games.Being in Ravens Ring of Honor is special, but there might be something even better in store for Ngata, according to Newsome.Newsome, who drafted Lewis and Reed, is also a member of the Hall of Fame. He believes Ngata deserves to be honored in similar fashion.“When I think about a Hall of Famer, No. 1, did he play on a winning ball club? He did,” Newsome said. “Was he part of a Super Bowl? He did. Was he a dominate player in his era at his position? He did. So Anthony Nelson Jersey , he’s checked all of those boxes.”Newsome reluctantly gave up a sixth-round draft pick in 2006 to move up one spot in the first round to get Ngata. He never regretted it.“We had been (drafting) pretty good in that sixth round, so were giving up a good player,” Newsome said. “But we were getting a great player. A rare player.”It didn’t take long for Billick to realize that Ngata was going to be a perfect fit for a team build around its defense.“You knew right from the get-go, all right, this guy is going to be special,” Billick said.Billick never got another coaching job after being fired by Bisciotti, but he became close friends with Baltimore’s current coach, John Harbaugh, and remains loyal to the club.“When Steve called it was a surprise, but it goes to the heart of what Haloti was talking about,” Billick said. “I don’t think there’s another organization that has what this one does.” Just stepping into the batter’s box to face good friend and former teammate Max Scherzer was a special occasion for Rick Porcello.

A career American League pitcher with 35 plate appearances on his resume going up against a three-time Cy Young Award-winner had mismatch written all over it. Instead, Porcello hit a three-run double off Scherzer that set the stage for the Boston Red Sox beating the Washington Nationals 4-3 in the opener of their three-game interleague series Monday night.

”I got lucky,” Porcello said. ”He got to the top of his windup and I told myself Jeffery Simmons Jersey , `Start swinging.’ Then I hit it.”

Porcello’s first major league extra-base hit came in the second inning on an 0-2 pitch after the Nationals intentionally walked Jackie Bradley Jr. to pitch to him. His .156 batting average and limited hitting experience made it appear to be the right calculation, but Porcello drove Scherzer’s 96 mph fastball over the head of Juan Soto in left center for his first RBIs since 2009.

”You don’t hit for an entire year,” said Porcello, who came in with five hits and two RBIs in his career. ”You don’t even know what it’s going to look like once you step in there. I was thinking swing the bat and be competitive up there. You just never know what’s going to happen because you don’t do it very often.”

Scherzer and Porcello were teammates for five seasons with the Detroit Tigers and are still close. Because of that, Scherzer wasn’t surprised by Porcello’s hitting stroke.

”I know he can hit,” Scherzer said. ”Give him a couple sliders to keep him off balance and then was trying to get a fastball up and away and it ran back middle-in. Anybody can hit middle-in. He can do that. I’ve seen him do it.”

On the mound, Porcello (10-3) struck out five and limited the damage to solo home runs by Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy. Scherzer (10-5) struck out nine and kept the Red Sox off the board except for Porcello’s bases-clearing double and became the 11th pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts with two different teams.

When Scherzer exited the game after 108 pitches, Mookie Betts provided the Red Sox with their insurance run with a solo shot off Brandon Kintzler in the seventh, his 21st home run of the season. Bryce Harper hit his 21st in the eighth, but Boston’s bullpen held on to hand the Nationals their 16th loss in 24 one-run games.

”Go out there and try to win ballgames and they all feel the same to me,” Harper said as Washington fell to 42-41, seven games back of NL East-leading Atlanta. ”I mean we lose the game Nate Davis Jersey , you’re a loser. Win the game, you’re a winner.”

Craig Kimbrel got into some trouble but picked up four outs for his 25th save in 27 chances.

FIRST-BASE HARPER?

Harper is doing just fine in center field but on Monday fielded some grounders at first base. It’s just experimental for now but could help the Nationals out down the line.

”I don’t ever know if he’ll ever start a game there, but I believe that if we’re in a pinch and we’ve got to make some kind of decisions in-game, he probably could play there,” manager Davey Martinez said.

PUERTO RICO PRIDE

Martinez and Red Sox manager Alex Cora were never on the same team but knew each other well from their playing days. They exchanged lineup cards as two managers of Puerto Rican descent in the series opener, a special moment and occasion for them and their country.

”It’s good for Puerto Rico,” Martinez said. ”We feel blessed and we’re happy we got the opportunity to do what we do.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: RHP Steven Wright (left knee inflammation) received a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection, a day after throwing a short bullpen session. Cora said Wright could return before the All-Star break. . 2B Dustin Pedroia (left knee inflammation) will remain in New York all week. . Cora said RHP Tyler Thornburg (shoulder surgery) will most likely be activated from the disabled list during this series.

Nationals: 1B Ryan Zimmerman (right oblique strain) took part in a simulated game as he prepares to try to play in a game for the first time since May. … Martinez said C Matt Wieters (left hamstring strain) will go on a minor-league rehab assignment Tuesday at Double-A Harrisburg after reporting significant progress in the simulated game and could be activated as soon as Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Boston LHP Brian Johnson (1-2, 4.28 ERA), who is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in three career interleague appearances, faces Washington for the first time. RHP Tanner Roark (3-9, 4.10 ERA) pitches for the Nationals in his first career start against the Red Sox.

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