'01 Mariners end 1 win short in Bracket 2 finals

Though the 2001 Mariners rallied to push the championship series to the brink, manager Lou Piniella and his crew came up short in Game 7 of MLB's simulated Dream Bracket 2 tournament on Friday against the 1986 Mets.

The Mets, who won the World Series title in 1986, added the Dream Bracket 2 virtual trophy to their list with a 3-0 win in the final game of the best-of-seven series.

The 2001 Mariners wound up second in the 64-team tournament, and they nearly pulled off the upset after a big outing from Ichiro Suzuki in Game 6 sent the series to a winner-take-all finale.

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While the Mariners didn't reach the real World Series in 2001 after winning 116 regular-season games, they got on a roll in the simulated tournament, topping the '15 World Series champion Royals, the 1988 American League champion Athletics, the 2011 AL champion Rangers, the 1942 Negro League champion Kansas City Monarchs and the 2004 World Series champion Red Sox to reach the final round.

The simulated competition, featuring many of the greatest teams in baseball history, was produced by Out of the Park Baseball 21, MLB's most realistic strategy game (PC and Mac).

Here's how the seven-game championship series between the 1986 Mets and 2001 Mariners played out:

Game 1: Mariners 3, Mets 2
Freddy Garcia outdueled Dwight Gooden in the opener at Shea Stadium as the Mariners continued their postseason roll. Edgar Martinez staked Seattle to the early lead with a solo homer in the first inning -- his fifth of the tournament -- but the Mariners had to battle back again after the Mets scored twice off Garcia in the third. Seattle got to Gooden in the sixth with a triple by Bret Boone and RBI singles by Mike Cameron and Dan Wilson. Garcia went seven innings for the win, with Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki closing out the final two frames.

Game 2: Mets 2, Mariners 1
Kevin Mitchell’s two-out home run off Ryan Franklin in the bottom of the 12th inning helped the Mets even the series and spoiled a strong showing by Seattle starter Jamie Moyer and four Mariners relievers. The Mariners outhit the Mets, 10-8, but crossed the plate only once on Martinez’s RBI single off Ron Darling in the third. Martinez, again playing at first base with no designated hitter in the National League ballpark, went 2-for-5, and Ichiro and Carlos Guillen also had a pair of hits each.

Game 3: Mets 9, Mariners 0
The Mets jumped all over Aaron Sele and the Mariners’ normally stout bullpen, racking up 17 hits as the series moved to Seattle. Sele, who shut down the 2004 Red Sox in Game 7 of the semifinals at Fenway Park, ran out of steam in this one as he allowed seven hits and five runs (four earned) in 4 1/3 innings and fell to 4-1 in the tournament. Wilson went 2-for-4 with a double, but the Mariners came up empty as Bob Ojeda picked up the win with 7 2/3 shutout innings.

Game 4: Mets 3, Mariners 0
Darryl Strawberry singled in a run in the first inning and ripped a solo homer in the sixth as the Mets took command of the series with their third straight win. Boone went 2-for-4 and Martinez doubled, but the Mariners totaled just four hits while getting shut out again in Seattle. Sid Fernandez went eight innings for the win, while Joel Pineiro took the loss while allowing three runs (one earned) and seven hits over 6 2/3 frames.

Game 5: Mariners 9, Mets 1
Martinez put the Mariners on his back in the final game in Seattle, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. The veteran DH ripped a two-run homer off Gooden in the third inning and a two-run double off Doug Sisk in the sixth as the Mariners’ offense reawakened. Ichiro went 2-for-5 and had an RBI single in the five-run sixth as Seattle totaled 13 hits and six walks off Gooden and four relievers. Garcia beat Gooden for the second time in the series as he threw 6 1/3 scoreless frames while improving to 7-2 with a 2.25 ERA in the tournament.

Game 6: Mariners 6, Mets 0
Ichiro laced two-run doubles in the fifth and seventh innings as he went 2-for-5 with four RBIs. That was all the help Moyer needed as the crafty lefty blanked the Mets on three hits over 8 1/3 innings. Boone went 2-for-4 with a double and Stan Javier added two hits as the Mariners silenced the Shea Stadium crowd and extended the series to a seventh game.

Game 7: Mets 3, Mariners 0
The Mariners' magic finally ran out as Ojeda blanked Seattle with another brilliant outing, this time going eight innings with four hits allowed. Boone went 2-for-3 with a double, but Seattle's normally potent offense was shut out for the third time in the series. Sele took his second loss of the series, going five innings and allowing three runs on six hits, including Mookie Wilson's two-run homer in the fourth inning. Boone and Cameron drew two-out walks from closer Jesse Orosco in the ninth, but David Bell lined out to center to end the series.

Series summary
Boone had a hot bat, hitting .444 (12-for-27) with a triple and two doubles, and Martinez knocked in six runs while batting .250 (7-for-28) with two homers and two doubles. But the Mets held the rest of Seattle's lineup in check. Mark McLemore, who had a huge tournament while getting most of the playing time in a third-base platoon with Bell, wound up with only four at-bats against the Mets while Bell hit .143 in 21 at-bats. And with no DH in four of the games in the NL park, Olerud lost playing time at first base to Martinez and got just 14 at-bats in the series.

Garcia and Moyer were outstanding in picking up the three wins and Seattle's pitching allowed just 20 runs (16 earned) in the seven games, but the lack of offensive help proved fatal. Sasaki had an impressive tournament as he racked up 11 saves while allowing just seven hits with two walks and 19 strikeouts in 13 innings in 15 appearances, but only one of those saves came in the final series, when he was limited to two outings.