Prince, Yeli help Crew prevail in Dream Bracket
Adam McCalvy
@AdamMcCalvyThe Brewers are advancing in the MLB Dream Bracket after knocking off another historic franchise.
Gorman Thomas, Prince Fielder and Christian Yelich each hit a pair of home runs and Mike Caldwell won both of his starts for an all-time Brewers team that beat the Cubs, 4-3, in a seven-game series that’s part of MLB’s simulated event. It features 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.
After defeating Willie Mays and the Giants in six games in the first round before outlasting the Cubs in the round of 16, the Brewers will face the Dodgers in the quarterfinals of the event.
Out of the Park Baseball -- a high-end baseball simulation software -- is producing the results based on 26-man rosters (15 hitters and 11 pitchers) for each of the teams compiled by the MLB.com beat reporters. For the simulation, players are rated using the average of their three best seasons on a single team, and games go by American League rules regardless of the matchup. Rosters were constructed with balanced depth to specifically compete in a simulated regulation game.
Here’s how the simulation unfolded:
Game 1: Cubs 6, Brewers 1
Hack Wilson hit a two-run home run in a three-run third inning against Brewers starter Teddy Higuera, and Chicago added three more runs off Higuera in the fifth in the left-hander’s first poor outing of the tournament. Former Crew general manager Doug Melvin must have been conflicted as Milwaukee hitters were shut down by Cubs starter Fergie Jenkins -- the Hall of Famer and Melvin both hail from Chatham, Ontario, and Jenkins’ success inspired Melvin’s own career as a pitcher -- as Jenkins scattered three singles in a complete-game three-hitter. Fielder drove in the Brewers’ only run.
Game 2: Brewers 8, Cubs 6
Yelich homered twice and drove in four runs, and Ryan Braun and Jim Gantner tallied three hits apiece as the Brewers scored in six innings to even the series against the Cubs and Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown. The Crew knocked Brown out of the game in the fourth inning before continuing the scoring against Jake Arrieta and Kerry Wood. Caldwell pitched into the seventh inning and five relievers (Dan Plesac, Josh Hader, Ken Sanders, Jim Slaton and Rollie Fingers) helped hold off Chicago’s late surge.
Game 3: Cubs 7, Brewers 6
Braun hit a bases-loaded triple in the first inning and Jim Gantner hit a three-run home run in fourth as the Brewers built a 6-1 lead against Greg Maddux, but the Cubs stormed back to reclaim the lead in the series. Yovani Gallardo took a one-hitter into the sixth inning before a run-scoring wild pitch and Ernie Banks’ two-run homer cut Chicago’s deficit to 6-4, and the Cubs scored twice in the eighth against Gallardo and Hader to tie it before Sammy Sosa scored the winning run in the ninth on an error by Crew center fielder Thomas. After knocking out Chicago's starting pitcher in the fourth inning for the second straight game, Milwaukee was blanked over the final 5 1/3 innings by Hippo Vaughn and Lee Smith.
Game 4: Cubs 3, Brewers 2
The Cubs won in walk-off fashion to take a 3-1 series lead, getting a game-winning home run from Andre Dawson on Fingers’ second pitch of the ninth inning. Thomas drove in both Brewers runs with a two-run home run off Jon Lester in the fourth inning, and Ben Sheets delivered a quality start by holding Chicago to two runs on seven hits in 7 2/3 innings.
Game 5: Brewers 5, Cubs 4
The Brewers capitalized on a Cubs error in the first to score two unearned runs, jump on Jenkins and keep the series alive. Of the nine Crew batters, eight got at least one hit as part of a balanced attack that backed Higuera’s seven-inning effort, but it was a bases-loaded walk to Fielder from Chicago reliever Carlos Marmol that decided the game in the seventh inning. Ryne Sandberg, Ron Santo and Banks all homered for the Cubs.
Game 6: Brewers 3, Cubs 2
Fielder was the hero again, smashing a tiebreaking home run off Wood with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning for a victory that forced a decisive Game 7. Just like the 1982 World Series against the Cardinals, Caldwell notched a second win in this series by holding the Cubs to two runs (none earned) on three hits in eight innings, the only damage coming in the seventh when Yount’s error extended the inning for Williams' two-out, game-tying home run. After Fielder’s homer reclaimed the lead, Fingers earned his third save by retiring Banks and striking out Wilson and Sosa in a clean ninth.
Game 7: Brewers 6, Cubs 5
Sanders, the 1971 American League Fireman of the Year and the first great reliever in Brewers history, bailed out Slaton in the ninth inning as the Crew held off a Cubs comeback and took the series. Milwaukee beat up on Maddux for the second time and took a 6-2 lead into the ninth, when Santo hit an RBI double and Sandberg smacked a two-run homer to make it a one-run game before Slaton could get the second out of the inning. Sanders took over and yielded a single to Anthony Rizzo that brought the go-ahead run to the plate, but Banks flied out and Wilson grounded out to end the game. The decisive run again came from Fielder, who homered in the eighth inning off Pedro Strop. Braun had two more hits and led the Brewers with 10 base hits and a .385 average in the series. Sanders finished with 3 1/3 scoreless innings while appearing in four of the seven games.