NEW YORK -- The Mets shocked the world in 1969 and steamrolled their way to a title in ‘86. In between, from the mid-'70s to the early '80s, they endured a decade of losing as Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine dominated the National League.

Matching up against the most prolific Reds team of that era, the 1986 Mets dispatched the ’75 Reds, 4-1, this week in a best-of-seven Dream Bracket 2 semifinal series.

• Box score and game summaries

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 Mets’ other entrant, the 1969 Mets, lost in their opening-round series against the 1997 Marlins. But the ’86 Mets rolled through the 2018 Rockies, ‘98 Padres, ‘94 Expos and ‘95 Braves in frequently dramatic fashion, before taking care of the ’75 Reds to reach the finals. They will next face the 116-win 2001 Mariners with a Dream Bracket championship on the line.

• Full bracket and info

The Dream Bracket includes 64 entrants, including two from each active franchise plus the 1994 Expos and three Negro Leagues teams. Each round features a best-of-seven matchup between clubs in a single-elimination format. Here’s how the Mets managed to topple the Big Red Machine.

• Complete Dream Bracket 2 rosters

Game 1: Mets 3, Reds 2
Coming off a strong quarterfinal performance against the 1995 Braves, Mookie Wilson stayed hot with a tiebreaking solo homer off Reds closer Rawly Eastwick in the ninth. The Mets had knotted the score five innings earlier, when Darryl Strawberry singled, moved to second on another single, stole third and scored on Ray Knight’s sacrifice fly. From there, they relied on their pitching to give Wilson a chance for some late dramatics. Starter Dwight Gooden completed six quality innings, before Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco -- both of whom had struggled at times during previous Dream Bracket rounds -- combined for the final nine outs.

Game 2: Mets 3, Reds 2
Strawberry’s two-run homer off Gary Nolan gave the Mets a sixth-inning lead, sending Nolan to his first loss in Dream Bracket play. Mets starter Ron Darling, by contrast, remained undefeated, moving to 7-0 after allowing one run over 6 1/3 innings. Wilson stayed hot with an RBI single en route to a 3-for-4 day at virtual Riverfront Stadium, while Rick Anderson -- unused during the real-life 1986 World Series -- recorded the final two outs for his second Dream Bracket save.

Game 3: Reds 9, Mets 4
It was never going to be easy against the Reds’ prolific offense, which hammered New York’s bullpen for eight runs over the final 3 1/3 innings of Game 3. Despite starter Bob Ojeda’s best efforts (5 2/3 innings of one-run ball), the Mets gave away a three-run lead when Rick Aguilera coughed up two in the sixth and Doug Sisk allowed another three in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Merv Rettenmund struck the decisive blow with a bases-clearing three-run double off Sisk. For good measure, Randy Myers served up another three runs in the ninth.

Game 4: Mets 1, Reds 0
Howard Johnson, one of the youngest members of the 1986 Mets, hit a walk-off single against Eastwick in the ninth to move the Mets within one win of a Dream Bracket finals berth. Strawberry sparked the rally with a one-out single off Eastwick, moving into scoring position when the Reds’ closer walked Wilson on four pitches. That brought up shortstop Rafael Santana, who was 3-for-3 in the game. Rather than stick with the hot hand, Davey Johnson turned to the more powerful Howard Johnson, who singled to send Strawberry home ahead of Cesar Geronimo’s throw. One of the unheralded stars of the ’86 Mets’ Dream Bracket run, Sid Fernandez combined with four relievers to keep the Reds scoreless into the ninth. Fernandez struck out nine batters in six innings, then watched as McDowell, Aguilera, Orosco and Sisk held off the same Cincinnati offense that had proven so potent in Game 3.

Game 5: Mets 4, Reds 1
For the first time since their opening-round matchup against the 2018 Rockies, the ‘86 Mets did not need a sixth or seventh game to advance. Strawberry hit a two-run single off Jack Billingham in the sixth inning to give the Mets their first lead, then added an RBI triple in the eighth to provide some insurance. On a rainy virtual night at Shea Stadium, that was more than enough for Gooden, who retired 13 consecutive Reds following a one-run rally in the first. Gooden threw just 89 pitches, but the bullpen held firm behind him, combining to allow only one more hit the rest of the way. The Mets’ most impressive feat in the series? It may have been holding Pete Rose and Johnny Bench to a combined .158 average with no extra-base hits and one RBI.