ST. LOUIS -- MLB’s Dream Bracket 2 kicked off Thursday with a slew of the best single-season teams in baseball history, and the 1967 Cardinals, one of two Cards teams featured in the bracket, got started with a Round 1 win. They beat the 1982 Brewers, 4-2, and they will next play the ‘57 Braves, who defeated the 2001 D-backs.

• Box score and game summary

The Cardinals didn’t boast a lot of power -- the offense hit just two home runs in the six games -- and instead relied on small ball to come out on top. Right fielder Roger Maris hit .529 (9-for-17) with a 1.138 OPS in five games. Third baseman Mike Shannon led the team with eight RBIs, thanks to his grand slam in Game 6, while first baseman Orlando Cepeda, the team’s slugger, drove in five runs and hit .304. Lefty Steve Carlton led the starters, allowing three runs in 11 innings across two starts. Nelson Briles didn’t allow a run in 5 2/3 innings of relief across four games.

• Full bracket and info

The simulated competition, featuring many of the greatest teams in baseball history, is being produced by Out of the Park Baseball 21, MLB‘s most realistic strategy game (PC and Mac). The 2004 Cardinals will play the '08 Phillies in Round 1 on Friday.

• Complete Dream Bracket 2 rosters

Here’s how the Cardinals beat the Brewers:

Game 1: Brewers 7, Cardinals 4
The Cardinals took a 3-1 lead with runs in the first and second innings and held the control in the first half of the game. Maris began his terrific series with a sacrifice fly in the first, and Shannon scored on shortstop Dal Maxvill’s triple in the second. Cards starter Bob Gibson knocked an RBI single to bring Maxvill home. Cepeda’s RBI single in the fifth was the end of the Cardinals’ offense off Brewers starter Pete Vuckovich, who got through five innings before the bullpen took over.

But Gorman Thomas’ two-run homer in the top of the fourth off Gibson tied the game. The Brewers took the lead for good in the sixth inning, when Gibson allowed four runs off five singles and a hit batsman.

Game 2: Cardinals 2, Brewers 1
Carlton shut out the Brewers until the sixth inning, when Robin Yount reached on a fielder’s choice and went to third on Cecil Cooper’s line-drive single. Enter Briles, who couldn’t escape the inning, either -- he gave up a single that scored Yount and tied the game.

After center fielder Curt Flood hit a solo homer in the third, the Cardinals got to Brewers starter Mike Caldwell for one more run in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Phil Gagliano singled and went to third on Lou Brock’s double. Julian Javier’s sacrifice fly off reliever Jim Slaton scored Gagliano and gave the Cards the lead. Closer Joe Hoerner notched the save to tie the series heading into Milwaukee.

Game 3: Cardinals 3, Brewers 1
Maris had a hand in scoring all three of the Cardinals' runs. After Brock singled and stole second to lead off the game, Maris’ line drive to right field sent him home for the first run. In the top of the seventh, with the score tied at 1, Maris lined another single to right field and put Brock on third base. Cepeda’s double scored Brock and sent Maris to third. With left fielder Ben Oglivie chasing the ball down, Maris tried for home and made it safely, giving the Cards an insurance run in their victory.

Cardinals starter Dick Hughes allowed one run on five hits in four innings, while Brewers starter Don Sutton allowed one run in 4 2/3 frames. Larry Jaster, Briles and Hal Woodeshick held control until Hoerner picked up the four-out save.

Game 4: Brewers 2, Cardinals 1
An excellent pitching duel between Cardinals right-hander Ray Washburn (seven innings, five hits, two runs, five strikeouts) and Brewers right-hander Moose Hass (6 1/3 innings, five hits, one run, seven strikeouts) ended with the series tied at 2, after the Crew struck in the fourth inning. Gorman Thomas’ double scored Ted Simmons -- whose solo homer in the second inning tied the game -- to give the Brewers the go-ahead run. Javier’s RBI single in the top of the second got the Cards on the board, and even though St. Louis threatened in the ninth with Cepeda on third, Milwaukee closer Rollie Fingers struck out Javier to end the game.

Game 5: Cardinals 5, Brewers 3
In a rematch of Game 1 between Gibson and Vuckovich, the Cardinals broke through the Brewers bullpen in the seventh. Shannon -- who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs -- hit a bases-loaded single, and the Cards struck again in the eighth, when Maxvill scored on an error. Gibson allowed three runs while striking out six in 5 2/3 innings, while Vuckovich allowed three runs in six innings.

For the third time this series, the Cardinals scored in the first inning -- Cepeda’s double to the center-field wall scored Maris, and Maris scored again on Cepeda’s single in the fifth.

Game 6: Cardinals 7, Brewers 2
In the clincher, Shannon brought the heroics. The third baseman played a part in six of the Cardinals’ seven runs; he hit a grand slam off Caldwell in the fourth inning and an RBI single in the sixth inning, and he drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning. Shannon’s slam was the Cardinals’ second homer of the series, and it put them on top and sent them to the second round. Tim McCarver drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in the final run in the seventh inning.

Carlton held the Brewers to two runs in 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking one.