SEATTLE -- If we could go back in time, how might Ichiro Suzuki fare against Satchel Paige? We’re about to find out -- in simulated fashion, anyway -- as two of baseball’s most enduring stars will face off in the Elite Eight portion of MLB’s Dream Bracket 2 tournament following Round of 16 victories on Thursday.

Ichiro and his 2001 Mariners knocked off the 2011 Rangers, winning the best-of-seven series, 4-3, to continue marching through the 64-team bracket. They’ll now face Paige and the 1942 Kansas City Monarchs, one of three Negro Leagues teams in the competition. The Monarchs defeated the 2019 Astros in six games in the Round of 16.

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).

• Box scores and game summaries | Full bracket and info | Complete Dream Bracket 2 rosters

Paige, who died in 1982 at age 75, is a Hall of Famer who pitched regularly in the Majors until age 46 after his Negro League days and was signed to pitch one final game for the Kansas City Athletics at age 58 in 1965. Ichiro retired last season at age 45 with the Mariners after 19 years in the Majors and nine in Japan.

The 2001 Mariners are an interesting case in the simulated tournament, given they tied a Major League record with 116 regular-season wins but didn’t reach the World Series after being knocked off by the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. In the Dream Bracket 2 tourney, they have beaten the 2015 World Series-champion Royals, the 1988 AL-champion A’s and the 2011 AL-champion Rangers.

Here’s how the seven-game series against the Rangers played out:

Game 1: Mariners 2, Rangers 1
Edgar Martinez’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted the Mariners to victory in the opening game at Seattle. In the fourth, Bret Boone doubled and scored Seattle’s other run on a single by Stan Javier. Starter Freddy Garcia allowed one run in five innings, and the Mariners’ strong bullpen held the line there, with Kazuhiro Sasaki earning the save.

Game 2: Rangers 4, Mariners 3
Texas tallied two-run home runs by Nelson Cruz and Adrián Beltré -- two players with Mariners ties -- in the second and third innings off Jamie Moyer. John Olerud’s two-run single in the sixth narrowed the Rangers’ lead to one, but the Mariners couldn’t push across the tying run. Ichiro went 2-for-5 but was stranded at third base in the seventh after a two-out triple.

Game 3: Mariners 8, Rangers 7
Dan Wilson’s two-run triple in the top of the ninth off Neftalí Feliz lifted the Mariners to victory in a shootout as the series moved to Texas. Carlos Guillen went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the sixth.

Game 4: Mariners 3, Rangers 2
Mike Cameron tied the game with a leadoff homer in the eighth inning and Boone singled in Mark McLemore for the go-ahead run in the ninth as the Mariners rallied again against the Rangers’ bullpen. Sasaki earned his third save of the series with a shutdown bottom of the ninth. Martinez went 3-for-3 with a double and walk. Boone also tallied three hits.

Game 5: Rangers 10, Mariners 5
This time it was Texas teeing off on the Mariners’ normally stout bullpen. Beltré slugged a three-run blast off Arthur Rhodes in the seventh, and Ian Kinsler clubbed a grand slam off Jose Paniagua in the eighth to overturn a 5-3 deficit. Ichiro went 4-for-5 with a double and one RBI and Cameron added his second homer of the series in a four-run second inning, but the Mariners couldn’t close out the series in the final game at Arlington.

Game 6: Rangers 4, Mariners 3
The Rangers used the long ball at Seattle to keep their hopes alive. Kinsler, Cruz and Beltré each hit solo homers off Moyer and Texas held on to even the series, 3-3. Seattle trailed 4-0 in the eighth before Ichiro singled, Cameron doubled and Boone launched a three-run homer. The Mariners loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but Koji Uehara came on to retire Boone on a flyout to right field for the final out.

Game 7: Mariners 10, Rangers 6
Martinez’s two-run homer in the seventh broke a 6-6 tie and Cameron followed with an RBI double as the Mariners clinched the series in a dramatic finale in front of their home fans. Cameron capped his big series by hitting a three-run homer in the third in a four-RBI game. McLemore went 3-for-4 with a triple, double, two RBIs and three stolen bases. Ichiro was 3-for-5 and scored twice.

Series summary
The Mariners’ offensive balance proved to be the difference again, with Cameron leading the way by hitting .385 (10-for-26) with four doubles, three homers and seven RBIs in the seven games. Guillen also was 10-for-26 with a homer and six RBIs. Ichiro batted .364 (12-for-33), and McLemore hit .364 (4-for-11) and stole four bases while splitting time with David Bell in their third-base platoon.