Hornsby, Edmonds lead Cards in Dream Bracket
Anne Rogers
@anne__rogersST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals all-time team that advanced past the Rockies in the first round of MLB’s Dream Bracket won its second series, beating the Phillies, 4-2, thanks to steady offense and well-rounded pitching.
The Cardinals will face the Reds, who took down the Pirates in their Round of 16 matchup.
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.
Second baseman Rogers Hornsby has paced the Cardinals offense so far, hitting .354/.398/.671 with six home runs, eight doubles and 13 RBIs in 19 games. Left fielder Joe Medwick has hit .309 with 11 RBIs, while Jim Edmonds has hit .227 with four home runs and 10 RBIs. Mark McGwire stood out in the series against the Phillies, raising his average to .319 and a .990 OPS.
On the pitching side, Mort Cooper lowered his ERA to 0.51 over seven games (17 2/3 innings). Dizzy Dean, who started Game 4, has a 2.83 ERA over five starts (28 2/3 innings), and Chris Carpenter has a 3.47 ERA over four starts (23 1/3 innings).
Here's how it all played out on Out of the Park Baseball:
Game 1: Phillies 11, Cardinals 4 (11)
The Cardinals had a 4-2 lead going into the ninth inning, but Darren Daulton’s two-run homer off Bruce Sutter tied it. The Phillies broke out for seven runs in the 11th -- with six coming off Harry Brecheen and one off Al Hrabosky. After a leadoff double, Brecheen intentionally walked Chuck Klein and then balked, moving the runners to second and third. Then he intentionally walked Dick Allen before walking in the go-ahead run. Brecheen allowed three more runs on two singles before Hrabosky took over.
Edmonds, who went 2-for-4, led off the bottom of the 11th with a single, but Game 1 was out of reach for the Cardinals. Starter Bob Gibson allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking two, while Phillies starter Steve Carlton allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Game 2: Cardinals 12, Phillies 4
The Phillies jumped on Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright for four runs in five innings, but reliever Cooper held them there for four scoreless innings -- and only two hits -- while the Cardinals offense stormed back. Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cardinals batted around and scored nine runs to take a comfortable lead. McGwire led off the inning with a double and scored on an error to tie the game. Roy Halladay allowed three more runs before Ron Reed entered. Medwick greeted him with a two-out, three-run home run. McGwire then singled, and Edmonds finished the scoring with a two-run homer.
Game 3: Cardinals 7, Phillies 1
Two Cardinals pitchers held the Phillies to one run; starter Carpenter pitched four scoreless innings, allowing three hits, four walks and six strikeouts. Jesse Haines finished the game and notched the save with three innings, allowing one run on three hits. A steady Cardinals offense scored three runs off Phillies starter Pete Alexander in the first inning, thanks to Hornsby’s solo home run and McGwire’s two-run double that scored Stan Musial and Albert Pujols.
Musial, who went 3-for-5, launched a solo homer in the third, and Pujols’ single in the fifth scored Hornsby -- whose 3-for-5 brought his tournament average to .405. The Cardinals’ final two runs came in the sixth off Ted Simmons’ triple and Scott Rolen’s sacrifice fly.
Game 4: Cardinals 6, Phillies 4 (10)
The Phillies scored four runs off Cardinals starter Dean in 5 1/3 innings, but the Cardinals came back and tied the game in the top of the sixth when Medwick tripled and scored on Curt Schilling’s balk. The game stayed tied, 4-4, through the ninth as relievers Jason Isringhausen (1 2/3 scoreless innings) and Brecheen (one scoreless inning) sent the game to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, McGwire drew a two-out walk and Edmonds drove a pitch to deep left-center for the game-winning, two-run home run. Sutter closed things down in the bottom of the 10th to seal the victory.
Hornsby went 2-for-5 in Game 4, with a home run -- his second straight game with a homer in the first inning -- and an RBI double. Ozzie Smith, the Cardinals’ leadoff man, went 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored.
Game 5: Phillies 5, Cardinals 3
Facing elimination, the Phillies took advantage of a passed ball and Simmons’ throwing error in the bottom of the third to take the lead. Jimmy Rollins’ solo homer off Gibson, who allowed five runs (two earned) in 3 1/3 innings, gave the Phillies their eventual 5-3 win. Carlton held the Cardinals to three runs in seven innings, striking out six and walking none. Pujols’ RBI double in the first gave the Cardinals their first run, and McGwire and Hornsby had solo homers in the second and third, respectively.
Haines (2 2/3 innings), Hrabosky (one inning) and Lee Smith (one inning) kept the score within reach, but Jonathan Papelbon and Halladay kept the Cardinals contained after Carlton exited.
Game 6: Cardinals 4, Phillies 3
The Phillies seemed on their way to forcing Game 7 when they held a 3-2 lead heading into the top of the ninth. Wainwright allowed two runs in five innings, and Cooper followed with one run in three innings. Meanwhile, Robin Roberts held the Cardinals to two runs on six hits in seven innings.
And after Tug McGraw allowed a leadoff single in the ninth to Pujols, Schilling retired the next two batters, and the Phillies were an out away from Game 7.
Then Edmonds stepped to the plate.
On a 3-2 count, Edmonds crushed a two-run, walk-off home run to deep right field. Just like that, the Cardinals moved on to the next round.