John bracket: 2017 Red Sox defeat Monarchs in five games

The Monarchs had Hall of Famers Josh Gibson, Willie Wells and Oscar Charleston in their lineup, yet did not hit a home run in the series against a lefty-heavy Red Sox staff.

Game One: Red Sox 5, Monarchs 4 (10 innings): Boston tied the game with two outs in the ninth on a single by Andrew Benitendi off Dave Brown, who had just entered to relieve Satchel Paige, then won it in the 10th when Christian Vazquez greeted Webster McDonald with an RBI single. Benitendi had three hits and two RBIs.

Game Two: Red Sox 6, Monarchs 4: Mitch Moreland capped a three-run fourth inning with a go-ahead two-run homer, Dustin Pedroia hit a solo homer in the sixth and Benitendi drove in two more runs in the seventh. Charleston went 5-for-5 with a double, two steals, an RBI and a runs scored, Red Sox reliever Addison Reed was credited with his second win in as many games.

Game Three: Red Sox 7, Monarchs 4: Benitendi drove in two more runs, one on a solo homer in the first, as the Red Sox battered Bll Byrd for four runs in 4.3 innings. Drew Pomeranz allowed three runs in the first two innings, then blanked the Monarchs for five innings before giving way to the bullpen. 

Game Four: Monarchs 2, Red Sox 0: With the Monarch facing elimination, Paige fired a three-hit shutout. Only one Red Sox reached scoring position as Paige struck out 10 men without a walk. The Monarchs got both runs in the sixth as Gibson, Oscar "Heavy" Johnson and Rap Dizon each hit doubles. 

Game Five: Red Sox 7, Monarchs 5: Benitendi hammered a three-run homer and added a fourth RBI. Boston hammered Cannonball Redding for four runs in the third inning. The Monarchs got to  4-2 deficit after six innings, but relievers Henry Salmon and Webster McDonald yielded single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings as Boston held off the NeL entery. Craig Kimbrel struck out three in the ninth for his third save of the series.

Projected rotation: Sale-Porcello-Pomeranz-Fister-(Sale)-(Porcello)-(Pomeranz). The bullpen will be fully available for the second round.