ATLANTA — Max Scherzer pitched seven strong innings to help the New York Mets beat Max Fried and the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Monday night in the opening game of their NL East showdown.

Scherzer (6-1) gave up only three hits, including Austin Riley’s 24th homer in the seventh. That cut the Mets’ lead to 2-1, but Luis Guillorme answered with his solo drive off Darren O’Day in the eighth.

All-Star closer Edwin Diaz, pitching for the third straight day, struck out the side in the ninth for his 19th save.

Former Mets second baseman Robinson Cano, obtained by Atlanta for $1 in a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres on Sunday, had two hits in his Braves debut.

NL East-leading New York moved 2 1/2 games ahead of second-place Atlanta.

Fried (9-3) gave up two runs on five hits and five walks, matching his career high, in five innings.

PIRATES 5, MARLINS 1: Mitch Keller pitched one-run ball over seven innings, Jake Marisnick homered and doubled, and Pittsburgh won at Miami.

Keller (3-6) scattered five hits, struck out five and hit a batter in his longest outing of the season.

Diego Castillo singled twice and drove in two runs, and Kevin Newman had three hits for the Pirates, who won their third straight. Newman is 7 for 18 since returning from the injured list Friday.

CARDINALS 6, PHILLIES 1: Miles Mikolas pitched effectively into the eighth inning, Albert Pujols passed Stan Musial on the career extra-base hits list, and Corey Dickerson and Lars Nootbar homered as St. Louis beat visiting Philadelphia.

The teams split the four-game series and are tied for the final wild-card spot in the National League. The Cardinals have won two straight but are just 3-6 in their last nine games.

Philadelphia lost consecutive games for the third time since the start of June.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ROYALS 3, TIGERS 1: Brad Keller tossed seven strong innings and rookie Vinnie Pasquantino homered and drove in a pair of runs as host Kansas City  beat Detroit in the opener of a split doubleheader.

Injured Royals infielder Whit Merrifield didn’t play, ending his consecutive games streak at a franchise-record 553 – it dated to June 24, 2018, and was the longest active string in the majors.

Merrifield exited Sunday’s game with right toe discomfort. He was fitted with a walking boot and is expected to miss at least two weeks.

GUARDIANS 8, WHITE SOX 4: Rookie Nolan Jones drove in four runs in his home debut for Cleveland, leading the Guardians to a win over Chicago in the opener of a four-game series between the AL Central rivals.

A 24-year-old outfielder with a sweet left-handed swing, Jones hit a two-run single in the first inning off Lance Lynn (1-2). He then chased the right-hander by driving home two more runs with a double in the fifth.

Jones is batting .500 (6 for 12) with a homer — a 457-footer that splashed into Kansas City’s famous fountains on Saturday — and eight RBI in four games since coming up from Triple-A Columbus.

Back from a 1-6 trip to Detroit and Kansas City, the Guardians staked Cal Quantrill (5-5) to a five-run lead in the first and moved back to .500 (42-42).

Yoán Moncada hit a three-run homer as the White Sox began an eight-game trip leading into the All-Star break.

NOTES

TRADE: The Kansas City Royals traded their competitive balance pick in the upcoming amateur draft to the Atlanta Braves for a trio of minor league players, including former second-round pick Drew Waters.

Unlike regular draft picks, competitive balance selections can be traded provided they are not dealt for cash. The one sent to the Braves is No. 35 overall, which means it comes between Sunday’s first round and the second round.

The 23-year-old Waters, an outfielder picked 41st overall in the 2017 draft, was hitting .252 while playing primarily with Triple-A Gwinnett this season. He spent last season at the Triple-A level, where he stole 28 bases in 103 games, and has been optioned by Kansas City to its Triple-A club at Omaha.

The other two players acquired by the Royals are right-hander Andrew Hoffman, who is 7-2 with a 2.36 ERA in 15 starts at Class-A Rome this season, and infielder CJ Alexander, who is hitting .258 at Double-A Mississippi.

The Royals assigned both to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

ALL-STARS: Atlanta Braves designated hitter William Contreras joined Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras as just the fifth brothers to start together in baseball’s All-Star Game.

Contreras was voted in Sunday as a reserve by fellow players and was selected to start because Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper, who was elected by fans, broke his left thumb on June 25.

They are the first brothers in the same All-Star Game since Aaron and Bret Boone in 2003.

Other brothers to start are Mort and Walker Cooper in 1942 and ’43, Dixie and Harry Walker in 1947, Joe and Dom DiMaggio in 1949 and Roberto and Sandy Alomar Jr. in 1992.

William Contreras is a first-time All-Star. The 24-year-old is hitting .273 with 11 homers and 22 RBI.

Willson Contreras, 30, earned his third All-Star trip, all as an elected starter. He is batting .266 with 13 homers and 35 RBI.

ALL-STAR GAME: Concession workers at Dodger Stadium have voted to authorize a strike days ahead of MLB’s All-Star Game festivities in Los Angeles.

Workers employed by concessionaire Compass Group and its subsidiary Levy Restaurants voted 99% to authorize a strike, which could begin at any time, according to Unite Here Local 11. The union is seeking what it calls “a fair new contract.”

Levy employs nearly 1,500 food servers, bartenders, suite attendants, cooks and dishwashers at the stadium, which will host the All-Star Game for the first time since 1980. Events begin Saturday and culminate in the game on July 19.

“They are the backbone of our tourism and sports industry, yet many struggle to stay housed and to make ends meet,” said Susan Minato, co-president of the union. “No worker should have to continue to live like this.”

The union represents over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona.

The Major League Baseball Players Association said Monday it stands with the stadium workers.

“They deserve to be treated fairly and will continue to have the 1,200 members of the MLBPA behind them,” a statement said.

HOME RUN DERBY: Mets slugger Pete Alonso will try to become the first player to win the All-Star Home Run Derby three consecutive times against a field that will also include the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols and Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr.

The New York first baseman confirmed he is one of eight participants in the July 18 competition at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Alonso hit 74 total home runs in last year’s Derby at Denver’s Coors Field and beat Baltimore’s Trey Mancini 23-22 in the final round. Alonso joined Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Cespedes (2013-14) in winning consecutive titles. Griffey also won in 1994 and is the only three-time champion.

Pujols will participate in his fifth Derby after coming up short in 2003, 2007, 2009 and 2015. He and Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera were added to the All-Star rosters as special selections by Commissioner Rob Manfred.

Pujols will make his 11th All-Star appearance and participate in the Derby at one of his former homes. He played 85 games with the Dodgers last season after being cut by the Los Angeles Angels, then signed with St. Louis before this season, which he has said will be his last.

The 42-year-old Pujols has five homers this season and 684 in his career, fifth on the career list.

Acuna, the Atlanta star who will be a starting outfielder for the National League, will compete in his second Home Run Derby. Acuna was eliminated by Alonso in 2019, when he set a career high with 41 homers.

Acuna will compete in the Derby even though he is not one of seven Atlanta players with 10 or more homers.

Joey Gallo, Shohei Ohtani, Matt Olson, Salvador Perez, Juan Soto and Trevor Story also competed last year.

There was no Derby in 2020, when the All-Star Game scheduled for Dodger Stadium was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Alonso won the 2019 Derby at Cleveland as a rookie when he defeated Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the final round, also by 23-22. Guerrero, whose father won the event in 2007, hit 91 total homers but tired in the final round.

RAYS: Shortstop Wander Franco will have surgery Tuesday on his right wrist.

Franco has a hamate injury. He left Saturday’s 5-4 loss at Cincinnati after fouling off a 100.2 mph Hunter Greene pitch before striking out.

Manager Kevin Cash said Franco will be sidelined for 5 to 8 weeks. Franco is hitting .260 with five homers and 23 RBI in 58 games in the first season of a $182 million, 11-year contract.

The Rays placed Franco and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier on the 10-day injured list on Sunday.

Kiermaier, 32, is dealing with left hip inflammation. He will see a hip specialist in Tennessee after the All-Star break.

PHILLIES: The Philadelphia Phillies will be without J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm, Aaron Nola and Kyle Gibson during a two-game series in Toronto due to Canadian restrictions on unvaccinated travelers.

President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters before the game that the four players will be placed on the restricted list and forfeit two days of pay and major league service time in accordance with the terms of MLB’s collective bargaining agreement.