Big Red Machine leads way vs. Cards in Bracket

CINCINNATI -- Members of the Big Red Machine and the leader of the 1990 club combined their skills offensively to lead the all-time Reds to the National League finals of the Dream Bracket Series.

Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Barry Larkin paced Cincinnati as it defeated the all-time Cardinals in seven games during the quarterfinals of the event, a combined effort of Major League Baseball and Out of the Park Baseball.

• Full bracket and schedule

The MLB Dream Bracket is a 32-team best-of-seven simulation featuring all-time teams for each of the 30 current Major League franchises, as well as teams consisting of Negro Leagues Stars and 25 & Under Stars. The 26-man rosters for each of the teams, compiled by the MLB.com beat reporters, consist of 15 hitters and 11 pitchers. For the simulation, players are rated using the average of their three best seasons on a single team. Rosters were constructed with balanced depth to specifically compete in a simulated regulation game.

In their first-round matchup vs. the Expos/Nationals franchise, the Reds won a best-of-seven series, 4-3. The second-round series vs. the Pirates lasted six games, with the Reds taking the 4-2 win. Now, it is on to the semifinals for a best-of-seven matchup against the Dodgers.

Rose batted .393, while Larkin batted .381 and Bench hit .357 with a home run. Frank Robinson and Joe Morgan each hit two home runs during the series vs. St. Louis.

• Box scores

Here is a breakdown of the series vs. the Cardinals:

Game 1: Cardinals 6, Reds, 5

Cardinals great Bob Gibson was put in an early three-run hole on Bench’s two-run double in the first inning and George Foster’s sacrifice fly in the third. It was a 3-1 game when Reds ace Tom Seaver labored in the bottom of the fourth. Following a wild pitch, Mark McGwire hit an RBI single that scored Albert Pujols, and the tying run crossed when Ozzie Smith walked with the bases loaded. Reliever Norm Charlton gave up two runs in the sixth. After a passed ball in the seventh, Jim Edmonds put away the game with a sacrifice fly.

Game 2: Cardinals 4, Reds 3

Cincinnati tied the score in the top of the eighth inning on Foster’s sacrifice fly off Lee Smith, but Aroldis Chapman let the Cardinals walk off in the bottom of the ninth. Leadoff hitter Scott Rolen walked on four pitches, and Smith hit a single. Rogers Hornsby’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners and set up Stan Musial, who ended the game with an RBI double.

• Dream Bracket rosters

Game 3: Reds 7, Cardinals 6

The series shifted to Cincinnati, and this time the Reds walked off. It was a 6-6 game in the bottom of the ninth when Rose drew a one-out walk against Bruce Sutter. Next up was Joey Votto, who hit a double that scored Rose from first base to end it.

Game 4: Reds 6, Cardinals 3

Starter José Rijo allowed two runs (one earned) and eight hits over 7 2/3 innings for the win after his lineup gave him a five-run lead through five innings off Adam Wainwright. Bench’s homer in the bottom of the eighth provided an insurance run. After Rob Dibble gave up a run in the top of the ninth, Chapman recorded the final two outs for the save.

Game 5: Reds 5, Cardinals 2

Frank Robinson slugged a pair of two-run homers against Gibson, with his drive in the sixth inning putting away the game. Seaver gave up one unearned run and four hits over five innings, with two walks and six strikeouts. Don Gullett worked the final five outs for a save.

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Game 6: Cardinals 2, Reds 1

It was largely a pitchers’ duel, but Jim Maloney’s two-run, 5 2/3-innings outing was outdone by Dizzy Dean’s six scoreless, three-hit innings. Musial’s sacrifice fly put St. Louis ahead in the third inning, and Joe Medwick led off the fourth with a home run. Leading off against Sutter in the ninth, Bench doubled, and he later scored on Eric Davis’ two-out RBI single. The game ended when Rose grounded into a fielder’s-choice play at second base.

Game 7: Reds 4, Cardinals 3 (12 innings)

Foster’s homer in the top of the 12th inning off Jason Isringhausen was the difference in the final game of the series. Cincinnati blew a three-run lead, gained from Rose’s RBI single and Morgan’s two-run double in top of the second. Ted Simmons’ homer vs. Mario Soto got a run back in the third, and the score was tied in the sixth on an RBI single by Pujols and Medwick’s RBI double. Late-inning relief proved the key, as Dibble struck out six with one hit over 2 2/3 innings. John Franco earned the win by following Dibble with 1 1/3 perfect innings.